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Several families of those killed in Snatch Land Rovers, as well as injured soldiers, have called upon Defence Secretary John Hutton to institute an independent public inquiry into the use of Snatch in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.  

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"We highlighted this issue saying people are going to die and now they have died. Our commanding officer and RSM tried everything in their power to stop us using Snatch. The point of failure here lies squarely with the MoD. The boys nicknamed Snatch the mobile coffin."
Soldier

'Chronic under-investment' in equipment blamed for deaths of four soldiers

The commander of SAS special forces in Afghanistan has resigned amid fresh controversy over the equipment available to British troops fighting the Taliban, it was reported last night.

It is believed that Major Sebastian Morley decided to quit over the deaths of four of his soldiers who were killed when their lightly armoured Snatch Land Rover hit a landmine in Helmand province earlier this year.

It is understood he was unhappy at the use of the Snatch, despite his repeated warnings over its vulnerability, according to The Daily Telegraph. Defence sources insisted his departure was for "personal reasons". In his resignation letter, Major Morley, the commander of D Squadron, 23 SAS, was said to have blamed "chronic under investment" in equipment by the Ministry of Defence for his soldiers' deaths.
 

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• Fitting of foam in plane might have saved crew
• Inquest is latest in series to be highly critical of MoD

A "serious systemic failure" meant that an RAF Hercules plane shot down in Iraq with the loss of 10 servicemen was not fitted with safety equipment that might have saved their lives, a coroner ruled yesterday.

David Masters said it was difficult to see the logic in a decision to ignore recommendations from air tactics experts to fit the Hercules fleet with foam designed to stop fuel tanks igniting. Delivering his verdict, he demanded that all RAF combat aircraft be fitted with safety systems to minimise the risk of this kind of explosion.

The verdict is the latest in a series of inquests to be highly critical of the Ministry of Defence over the deaths of British personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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“I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil,”

Alan Greenspan

AMERICA’s elder statesman of finance, Alan Greenspan, has shaken the White House by declaring that the prime motive for the war in Iraq was oil.

In his long-awaited memoir, to be published tomorrow, Greenspan, a Republican whose 18-year tenure as head of the US Federal Reserve was widely admired, will also deliver a stinging critique of President George W Bush’s economic policies.

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