Mother of Tamworth soldier wins first round of legal battle
The Tamworth mother of a soldier killed in a Snatch Land Rover in Iraq has won the first round of a legal battle over an investigation into the vehicles.
Susan Smith wants to force the Government to rethink its decision not to hold a public inquiry into the use of the controversial lightly-armoured vehicles in major conflict situations.
Mrs Smith was given permission to seek a High Court judicial review relating to past use of the vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But Mr Justice Mitting refused her leave to challenge a Ministry of Defence decision not to hold an inquiry into present and future deployment of Snatch Land Rovers - a decision he described as "unimpeachable" in the courts.
Mrs Smith's 21-year-old son Phillip Hewett, a private in the 1st Battalion Staffordshire Regiment, died on July 16 2005, in the Al Amarah region of Iraq in a roadside bomb attack on a patrol of three armoured Snatch Land Rovers.
The Snatch was originally designed as a cheap and quick way of transporting troops in Northern Ireland. It has been heavily criticised for failing to protect against roadside bombs following a series of deaths, around 38 in all, in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr Justice Mitting said that if a full inquiry was eventually held into past deployment, three issues could be investigated:
:: Should different equipment, such as the more heavily armoured Cougar Mastiff, have been procured and deployed in 2005 and 2006?
:: If so, could the deaths of some or all of the soldiers have been avoided?
:: If so, why was that equipment not procured and deployed?
