Dead British soldier let down by lack of body armour: coroner

The government was accused of a Òbreach of trustÓ by a coroner closing a probe into the death of a soldier who died after surrendering his body armour because of shortages.

Sergeant Steven Roberts, 33, handed over the armour which could have saved his life three days before he was killed by friendly fire.

There was not enough kit for the whole battle group and priority was given to soldiers patrolling on foot, troops told the inquest in Oxford, southern England.

Roberts, a tank commander, Òlost his life because he did not have that basic piece of equipmentÓ, said Andrew Walker, Oxfordshire assistant deputy coroner.

The soldier was checking for weapons at a vehicle checkpoint near Az Zubayr, southern Iraq, in March 2003 when an Iraqi man appeared, hurling stones, the inquest heard.

Roberts tried to shoot at him but his pistol jammed.

A gunner on a nearby tank opened fire in a bid to protect him but was unaware his machine gun was inaccurate at short range.

In tapes recorded by Roberts in the days leading up to his death and played at the inquest, he criticised the ÒdisgracefulÓ lack of equipment in the days before his death.

Walker, who recorded a so-called 'narrative verdict', said he wanted to find out why it took former defence secretary Geoff Hoon, who is still a minister in Tony BlairÕs government, eight weeks to authorise the ordering of extra body armour in 2002.

David Williams, the Ministry of DefenceÕs director of capability, argued that they Òcould not do anything that would indicate that the department was pressing ahead with plans for war when the government was pursuing the diplomatic optionÓ.