Equipment shortages blamed for death

A military inquiry into the death of Corporal Mark Wright blamed incompetence and equipment shortages, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

The 27-year-old paratrooper, who was awarded the George Cross posthumously, died from injuries sustained in a minefield in Helmand while trying to rescue a colleague in September 2006.

The inquiry report said that an RAF Chinook had been sent to help several soldiers, including Cpl Wright, but was little use because it did not have a rescue winch. Instead they were forced to wait five hours until a US helicopter fitted with a winch arrived. Cpl Wright died before he could be taken to a military hospital.

Major General Andrew Farquhar, who presided over the inquiry, said there were no British helicopters equipped to get soldiers out of a minefield. Had there been, he said in a report, "Cpl Wright's wounding may not have proved fatal".

Paul Harrington, lawyer for Cpl Wright's parents, said: "There was a systemic failure by the Ministry of Defence in providing adequate resources, equipment and intelligence which led to a wholly avoidable death and serious injuries."

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the military did have the appropriate equipment but a fault had meant that all winches had been returned to the UK at the time of the incident.

But shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said that the report contradicted previous suggestions by the MoD that Cpl Wright was beyond medical help. "This is a catalogue of unacceptable errors," he said. "Contrary to the MoD's claims, it is clear that Cpl Wright's injuries were survivable."

Cpl Wright's father, Bob, was said to be furious with the MoD, which he accused of "trying to hide the truth".

An MoD spokeswoman said: "At the time of the incident, all of the helicopters in theatre would have been fully equipped, however a fault with another system necessitated all of the winches being returned to the UK, as a matter of urgency, for inspection to ensure their reliability."