Inquest into first UK female Afghanistan death resumes

An inquest is beginning into the death of the only British female soldier killed in Afghanistan.

Cpl Sarah Bryant, 26, of Cumbria, died while on patrol in June 2008 with three SAS reservists - Cpl Sean Reeve, L/Cpl Richard Larkin and Paul Stout.

They were travelling in a Snatch Land Rover, a controversial light patrol vehicle still in use in Afghanistan.

At least 37 UK personnel have died in Iraq and Afghanistan while travelling in the lightly-armoured vehicles.

Their vulnerability to roadside bombs and other explosives has led some soldiers to call them the "mobile coffin".

The Snatch is agile but lightly protected and was never designed to take the full force of the blast that killed Cpl Bryant and the other three soldiers.

'Criminal at worst'

The deaths, in particular that of Sarah Bryant - a young, recently married member of the Intelligence Corps - attracted a lot of media attention at the time.
It also attracted a lot of criticism, with one SAS major resigning his commission in protest.

Maj Sebastian Morley told the Daily Telegraph at the time that the Ministry of Defence's failure to provide troops with adequate equipment was "cavalier at best, criminal at worst".
Concerns about the vehicle were raised as long as go as 2003. The MoD has upgraded the Snatch with improvements to its armour and better electronic counter measures to detect improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

But that work has yet to be completed. This January the Army started to receive the improved Snatch Vixen Plus but the older models are still in service in Afghanistan.
Col Stuart Tootal, who also resigned his commission in protest at the failures of the MoD to provide the right equipment in Afghanistan, acknowledges there have been a number of improvements to the Army's light patrol vehicle.

But he says the replacement of the older models has taken "far too long" given that the MoD knew it was "sub-optimal" in 2004. He said it was another example of procurement at the MoD being too sluggish.

There can be no doubt the MoD has taken a number of steps to improve its light patrol vehicle.

But this inquest, at Trowbridge Magistrates Court in Wiltshire on Monday, may once again raise questions as to why it has taken so long.

In a statement, the MoD said its thoughts were with the families of Cpl Bryant, L/Cpl Reeve, L/Cpl Larkin and Pte Stout but it would not comment on ongoing inquest proceedings.
It added: "We have made clear many times that the safety of our personnel is our top priority and the MoD has spent over £1.3bn since 2006 on new and upgraded vehicles.
"The threat our forces face in Afghanistan has continued to change and we have evolved our protected vehicles to match the threat. Snatch Land Rovers are no longer used in areas of heightened threat from IEDs."

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