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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Army supply 'chaos' proved fatal | Army supply 'chaos' proved fatal |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A coroner has ruled that an Army logistics failure led to the unlawful killing of a Scottish soldier in Iraq. | A coroner has ruled that an Army logistics failure led to the unlawful killing of a Scottish soldier in Iraq. |
| Gordon Gentle, 19, of the Royal Highland Fusiliers (RHF), was killed by a roadside bomb in Basra in June 2004. | Gordon Gentle, 19, of the Royal Highland Fusiliers (RHF), was killed by a roadside bomb in Basra in June 2004. |
| Selena Lynch, assistant deputy coroner, said it was probable the bomb would not have detonated had disabling device Element B been fitted. | |
| Fusilier Gentle's mother Rose, 43, from Glasgow, said justice had been done and the truth had come out. | |
| "I fought for that," she said. | |
| "I said I wouldn't give up and I didn't. My son should be here today. | |
| "They have deprived me of a beautiful son and deprived two sisters of their brother. | |
| We were immensely saddened at his loss ... and we deeply regret the series of events that contributed to it Ministry of Defence spokesman | |
| "I'm proud of Gordon but I am disgusted at the way he was treated. | |
| "They say when you join the Army it's a brilliant career. At the same time you should be looked after." | |
| Mrs Gentle said she was appalled by the way the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had behaved. | |
| "They have lied and covered up," she told reporters. | |
| Electronic counter measures (ECMs) - known as Element B - were in theatre two weeks before Fusilier Gentle's death. | |
| However, due to a communications breakdown they were fitted to RHF vehicles just hours after he died. | However, due to a communications breakdown they were fitted to RHF vehicles just hours after he died. |
| The store in which the kits were being held was about 1km - just over half a mile - from where the RHF were stationed, at Shaibah logistics base on the edge of Basra, the inquest heard. | The store in which the kits were being held was about 1km - just over half a mile - from where the RHF were stationed, at Shaibah logistics base on the edge of Basra, the inquest heard. |
| 'Lacking clarity' | |
| The ECMs arrived in theatre on 12 June. | The ECMs arrived in theatre on 12 June. |
| Their intended delivery date to the units, including the RHF, was 16 June. | |
| It was not until the evening of 28 June, hours after Fusilier Gentle's death, that RHF vehicles began to be fitted with the ECM devices. | |
| The coroner said the inquest at Oxford heard that the Army's in-theatre supply chain "appeared chaotic and lacking in clarity". | The coroner said the inquest at Oxford heard that the Army's in-theatre supply chain "appeared chaotic and lacking in clarity". |
| Rose Gentle has always claimed the Army error caused her son's death | |
| Ms Lynch branded the Ministry of Defence's policies for disclosure of evidence to her inquest "illogical and based on errors of law". | |
| Fusilier Gentle had volunteered for the position of top cover, looking out from the top of the vehicle. | |
| Delivering her verdict, the coroner said: "He died as a result of injuries caused by the explosion and was unlawfully killed. | |
| "It is probable that the device would not have been detonated if the escort had been equipped with an ECM, known as Element B." | |
| A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Our thoughts and sympathies remain with the family, friends and colleagues of Fusilier Gordon Gentle at this difficult time. | |
| "We were immensely saddened at his loss through an attack by insurgents in Basra in June 2004 and we deeply regret the series of events that contributed to it." |