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Army equipment was sent out late Coroner attacks MoD over failure
(about 11 hours later)
The army has admitted vital equipment was sent to Afghanistan 25 days late, arriving after the first British soldier died in Helmand Province. A coroner criticised the Ministry of Defence for failing to supply soldiers in Afghanistan with basic equipment.
Capt James Philippson, 29, was the first casualty after troops were deployed in the region in June 2006. The comments came at the end of an inquest in Oxford into the death of Captain James Philippson, 29, who died in a firefight with Taleban fighters.
In a statement, the MoD said it was a "regrettable administrative error". Andrew Walker said 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery was defeated by the "lack of basic equipment."
Capt Philippson's father Tony, from St Albans, has said he will use his son's inquest to tell Oxford Coroner's Court about equipment shortages in the army. Capt Philippson, of Hertfordshire, was the first casualty after troops were deployed in the region in June 2006.
The inquest into his son's death opens at 0930 GMT. The inquest heard how, before the incident on 11 June, 7 Para soldiers had complained repeatedly about a lack of proper equipment - chiefly standard night vision kits and weaponry.
'Missing kit' Mr Walker, assistant coroner for Oxfordshire, said: "They (the soldiers) were defeated not by the terrorists but by the lack of basic equipment."
Before the hearing, Tony Philippson said he had seen a Board of Inquiry report into the matter. He said sending troops into a combat zone without basic kit was "unforgivable and inexcusable" and "a breach of trust between the soldiers and those who govern them".
He said: "The report says they were missing "mission essential" equipment. They were sent out there without it." The Treasury and the then Chancellor, Gordon Brown, will be really to blame for what happened Anthony Philippson
He said the missing kit included night vision goggles, light, hand-held machine guns, and underslung grenade launchers to use against rocket-propelled grenades. He recorded a narrative verdict in which he said Capt Philippson was unlawfully killed.
In one of the witnesses reports, Mr Philippson said a sergeant had written that the general feeling was that "it would take a death to get this equipment". During the inquest Mr Walker asked Major Johnny Bristow, Capt Philippson's commanding officer, if they would have been a match for their attackers had they been supplied with Minimi machine guns and under-slung grenade launchers.
In a statement the MoD said: "Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time. "It would have made a hell of a difference," Major Bristow said.
"We deployed tough, capable units, with robust rules of engagement, because we expected resistance. He said there were three or four kits between as many as 30 men.
"When commanders subsequently identified the need for additional forces they got them - an extra 830 personnel in the first year of the deployment. The hearing was told that the Taliban forces had multiple rocket-propelled grenade launchers and a wealth of other firepower.
"The Board of Inquiry reports that [a failure to] follow the correct staff procedures between a requesting unit and Headquarters Helmand Task Force resulted in a 25-day delay to receipt of Mission Essential Equipment, such as night vision goggles. But even after his death, the much-needed equipment did not arrive, the hearing was told.
"This was a regrettable administrative error, albeit one that occurred in difficult circumstances." Capt Philippson's father, Anthony Philippson, said after the verdict: "He (the coroner) laid into them, particularly badly for the lack of equipment.
"They were outgunned by a bunch of terrorists. I do hold the Ministry of Defence (MoD) responsible for James's death but it is not just the MoD - it goes much deeper than that.
"The Treasury and the then Chancellor, Gordon Brown, will be really to blame for what happened.
'Starved of cash'
"The MoD was starved of cash by the Chancellor."
Capt Philippson was part of a quick-reaction force dispatched to assist another group of British soldiers who had come under fire after they were sent to retrieve an unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicle (UAV) which had come down.
As he ran to help, Capt Philippson was hit in the temple by a bullet. Cause of death was given as a gunshot wound to the head.
The troops were deployed in Afghanistan to help train soldiers from the Afghan national army with a view to them controlling the Sangin area of Helmand Province, where 7 Para were based.