How MoD blunder killed Scots soldier in Iraq

• Soldier died in ambush after going for repairs for his ageing vehicle

• FV432 Armoured personnel carriers reaching the end of their servicable lives

• Government accused of not replacing outdated equipment to save money

Key quote: , said the government had put back plans to phase out the FV432s to save money. "Unless they [FV432 armoured personnel carriers] are replaced soon, this is going to happen again and again." John Chisholm, Defence International magazine.

Story in full: THE first Scottish soldier to die in Iraq was killed after his aging vehicle broke down just days into the campaign, The Scotsman can disclose.

Lance Corporal Barry Stephen was killed in an ambush as he and his colleagues attempted to rejoin the Black Watch mortar platoon in a heavily defended compound after going for repairs on their broken-down FV432 armoured personnel carrier.

Had his vehicle not broken down L-Cpl Stephen and his colleagues would never have been travelling in the area where he was killed.

The revelation embroils the Ministry of Defence in a fresh scandal over the issue of faulty or out-dated equipment.

Soldiers serving in Iraq at the time say that problems with the FV432s meant only eight of the 12 mortar platoon vehicles in the Black Watch battle group managed to cross the border. Defence experts say the FV432s, which were first introduced in the 1960s, are rapidly reaching the end of their service life and accuse the government of delaying plans to replace the vehicles in order to save money.

Last night, Gerald Howarth, the shadow defence minister, said the government had to accept its responsibility to provide troops with adequate equipment.

"If we are going to send them into battle, we have got to make sure they have the best possible equipment and that is what the public expects," he said.

L-Cpl Stephen was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade as he attempted to fight off an attack in an area still vulnerable to Iraqi militia action. He and his colleagues were returning under escort from the town of azZubayr, where they had gone for repairs.

The incident is the latest in a long list of equipment failures and shortages which have been blamed for endangering the lives of British soldiers serving in Iraq.

In January, Lieutenant Colonel James Cowan, the commanding officer of the Black Watch, told The Scotsman that he blamed the shortage of equipment in the Gulf on the government’s unwillingness to be seen to commit to war. The regiment’s quartermaster during the conflict was highly critical of the shortage of nuclear, biological and chemical protection suits and equipment.

The government has also been accused of sending troops into action without adequate body armour, ammunition or clothing. One soldier, Sergeant Steve Roberts, was shot dead after he was ordered to hand over his personal body armour to an infantry soldier.

Last night, a spokesman for the MoD said that National Audit Office figures show that the FV432 vehicles were the second most reliable vehicle in the entire fleet.

However, the MoD’s own report into the conflict noted that there had been a problem with maintaining sufficient numbers of serviceable vehicles and that it had become normal practice to "cannibalise" some vehicles for spare parts to keep others running.

John Chisholm, of Defence International magazine, said the government had put back plans to phase out the FV432s to save money. "Unless they are replaced soon, this is going to happen again and again," he said.