ARMY bosses responsible for the death of SAS reservist Edward Maher and two colleagues must be “held to account”, a Hampshire MP demanded.
Winchester MP Steve Brine intervened in the Commons to urge David Cameron to ensure action is taken against those in charge of the tragic test march on the Brecon Beacons.
Lance Corporal Maher, 31, from Winchester, was one of three reservists who died in “heatwave” conditions on Pen Y Fan in July 2013.
This week, the Army apologised after a coroner criticised a catalogue of blunders and concluded the men would have survived if commanders had followed Ministry of Defence (MoD) guidelines.
During prime minister’s questions, Mr Brine said: "A coroner said their deaths were the result of a series of gross failures and a catalogue of very serious mistakes by those involved in planning and running the exercise.
“Now, obviously, nothing can turn the clock back for those families, but would the Prime Minister ensure the army service inquiry which will now get under way does everything it can - while recognising, of course, that we continue to train the best armed forces in the world - to bring whatever changes are needed to prevent this ever happening again and see those responsible are held to account.”
Steve Brine
In reply, Mr Cameron said there was a need to examine the coroner's conclusions “very, very carefully and make sure that this can't possibly happen again”.
And he told MPs: “Having seen at first hand some of the extraordinary things that our special forces do and the bravery of people that volunteer to join and the training they do, I know how vital this is.
“But it's an absolutely tragic case. I understand the MoD has accepted the failures identified by the coroner and has apologised for these.
“I also understand a number of changes have already been made to this particular exercise, but we now need to study the coroner's conclusions very, very carefully and make sure that this can't possibly happen again.
"And I know the Army will also hold its own service inquiry as soon as all the civil investigations have been completed.”
James Dunsby and Craig Roberts also collapsed and died on Pen y Fan while Britain was in the grip of a heatwave, two years ago.
Narrative verdicts recorded by Birmingham coroner Louise Hunt also found that delays in providing medical help to the men amounted to neglect.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here