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Soldier was wearing
‘wrong kit’
29.07.08
Inquest returns
verdict of unlawful killing
A young British soldier who was buried in Fahan last
year after he’d been killed in Afghanistan was
wearing incorrect body armour when he was killed, an
inquest has heard.
Lance Bombardier Liam McLaughlin, of Dalbeattie,
Dumfries and Galloway died after coming under
Taliban fire. Mr. McLaughlin’s parents are from
Letter in Fahan but moved to England before he was
born and he grew up in Lancaster, Lancashire.
The coroner, Andrew Walker, recorded a verdict of
unlawful killing in his death and in the death of a
fellow soldier Ross Clark from South Africa who died
in the same attack. |
He said they had been
improperly kitted out and an army standing order on
correct body armour “was not followed.”
“Those soldiers should not have been in the position
they were without the appropriate equipment,” he
added.
Liam McLaughlin, 21, died when militants fired a
rocket-propelled grenade at a tower in the Sangin
area of Helmand province on 3 March of last year.
He was later buried in St. Mura’s Church in Fahan
when his parents Seamus |
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and Jackie, sisters
Deborah, Ellen and Eva and brothers James and David
were in attendance at Requiem Mass celebrated by Fr.
Neil McGoldrick.
The inquest at Oxford Coroner's Court heard that L/Bmdr
McLaughlin was wearing enhanced combat body armour (ECBA)
and a "Para" helmet, which was "forbidden when
contact with the enemy is likely".
He died from severe head injuries caused by the
grenade's close range explosion.
L/Bmdr Clark was wearing a mixture of body armour
kit and the correct helmet. He died from fragment
wounds to the chest.
Although an expert said the men would have died even
if they had been wearing the right kit, Coroner
Andrew Walker said: “What concerns me is the
standing order was not followed.”
Major Martin Collins, a company commander, told the
inquest that it had been their decision not to use
the correct kit.
“They did not have it, not because they were not
issued with it, but because they chose to deploy
from Camp Bastion without it,” he said.
But the coroner said it was not the fault of the
soldiers but of “the Army’s chain of command.”
A MoD spokesperson said: “Our thoughts and
sympathies remain with the families and friends of
Lance Bombardier Ross Clark and Lance Bombardier
Liam McLaughlin at this difficult time. We note the
coroner's verdict of unlawful killing and
wholeheartedly agree with his comments about the
bravery and courage of these soldiers.”
(Story: Inishowen Independent) |
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