Bob Ainsworth in 'cover-up' over soldier's death
Bob Ainsworth, the defence secretary, has been accused of a cover-up over the death of the first British soldier to be killed in action in the Nato operation in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, by smearing his commanding officer.
Tony Philippson, whose son James died in June 2006 after being sent into battle without basic equipment, including night-vision goggles, accused Ainsworth of trying to deflect blame from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) by criticising Major Jonny Bristow, his son’s commander.
A panel of three senior army officers is expected to exonerate Bristow, clearing him of making tactical errors. Their report is due to be published later this year.
“This will prove Bob Ainsworth was trying to cover up the real reason for James’s death. He was trying to shift blame away from the lack of equipment for which the MoD was responsible and negligent,” Philippson said.
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“James was a friend of Major Bristow and the suggestion that he played a part in my son’s death is despicable.
“He would have wanted me to pursue this until his commanding officer was exonerated, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
Philippson’s 29-year-old son, who served in 7th Parachute Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, was part of a quick reaction force dispatched to assist another group of soldiers who were under fire and had a serious casualty. They had been sent to retrieve an unmanned spy plane near their base in Sangin on June 11, 2006.
Philippson was hit in the temple by a bullet. Surviving colleagues said there were only three or four night-vision kits between as many as 40 men. They also lacked Minimi machineguns and under-slung grenade launchers, leaving them “totally outgunned” as they faced Taliban forces armed with multiple rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
At the inquest into Philippson’s death, Andrew Walker, then the assistant coroner for Oxfordshire, said: “They [the soldiers] were defeated not by the terrorists but by the lack of basic equipment.
“To send soldiers into a combat zone without basic equipment is unforgivable, inexcusable and a breach of trust between the soldiers and those who govern them.”
The MoD admitted that an “administrative error” had led to a 25-day delay in getting equipment to the front line.
However, in an interview just hours after the inquest, Ainsworth, then the armed forces minister, attempted to shift the blame onto Bristow. He said while there had been a shortage of equipment, a military board of inquiry had also found there were a “lack of standard procedures and tactical errors too”.
Ainsworth neglected to mention that the inquiry, which pre-dated the inquest, also criticised ministers and their failure to commit sufficient troops and equipment to Afghanistan.
The following month Philippson met Ainsworth and demanded that he retract his statement about Bristow. Ainsworth refused. Philippson did not let the matter drop.
After a meeting with the then adjutant-general, Lieutenant-General Freddie Viggers, in June 2008, he secured a second board of inquiry on the basis that the MoD had made significant “procedural errors”. The first board of inquiry criticised Bristow for ordering the initial mission to retrieve a spyplane, which was “certainly not worth risking lives for”. The new report is expected to say the action was reasonable given there was little intelligence available about the Taliban threat in Sangin.
It is also anticipated that the board will dismiss criticisms that the rescue mission in which Philippson died was an “ill-prepared rush”.
The panel is expected to say soldiers were properly briefed and overall preparation was adequate given the need to deploy the soldiers rapidly.
The report is expected to confirm the first board of inquiry’s criticism about the lack of equipment. However, it is understood that the panel has refrained from assessing whether the shortage of equipment played a role in Philippson’s death.
Tony Philippson said: “Bob Ainsworth is not fit to be secretary of state and lead the armed forces. Blaming a commanding officer for the MoD’s failings is outrageous. He should resign his post with immediate effect.”
At the time of the inquest, Ainsworth insisted that equipment shortages in Helmand has been resolved and British troops were among the “best equipped” in the world.
The MoD has since been criticised for failing to provide adequate equipment, including helicopters and armoured vehicles. The British death toll since the start of the 2001 US-led invasion is 208.
Philippson’s family have set up the Captain James Philippson Trust Fund, which raises money for military, disability, and other charities. It can be accessed at www.captainjim.org
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