Judge fines army cadet leader involved in Kaylee McIntosh death who was ‘a cog in a much larger wheel’

A war veteran in charge of a “shambolic” Army Cadet training exercise in which a 14-year-old girl drowned was fined £5,000 for health and safety failures.

But a sheriff said Major George McCallum was only “a cog in a much larger wheel” and called for action to be taken against others for their role in relation to the death of Kaylee McIntosh, from Fyvie, Aberdeenshire.

It was a sentiment repeated by the teenager’s parents, Lesley and Derek, outside Inverness Sheriff Court after sentencing on McCallum.

The couple said: “Major McCallum is only one of a number of people who have to answer for their actions on the day Kaylee was taken from us.

“Our campaign does not stop here and we will continue to press the Crown Office to bring charges against several others implicated in the death of our daughter.’’

McCallum, who served with the Parachute Regiment in the Falklands and Northern Ireland, had admitted contravening the Health and Safety at Work Act following the death of Kaylee McIntosh, from Fyvie in Aberdeenshire, in August 2007.

Inverness Sheriff Court was told how the teenager had been pinned under the overturned hull of a speedboat which had capsized at Loch Carnan in South Uist for 90 minutes.

She was wearing the wrong type of lifejacket – one designed for a soldier in full combat gear – and the over-buoyancy prevented Kaylee from swimming underwater to safety.

The boat, carrying eight cadets and four adults, was also overloaded by two bodies and there was no roll call taken following the accident.

Sheriff William Taylor, QC, had deferred sentence until today to consider the ‘overall picture’ of McCallum’s role in the tragedy as the court was told the accident had been an “organisational failing”.

The Crown Office last night ruled out any further prosecutions.

A spokesman said: “The death of Kaylee McIntosh was tragic and avoidable. It has been the subject of a full inquiry involving the Health and Safety Executive, the police and the Crown.

“The death has been the subject of a Fatal Accident Inquiry and the successful prosecution of Major McCallum for a breach of his Health and Safety responsibilities. The MOD is the subject of a censure issued by the Health and Safety Executive.

“Crown Counsel have concluded that on the available evidence there is insufficient evidence to prosecute any others involved in the death. Kaylee’s parents have been advised of this decision.”