Coroner Slams Army Over IED Death

The Surrey parents of a soldier killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack on an insecure training range said the Army had failed in its duty of care for their son. Lance Corporal James Hill, of the 1st Battalion The Coldstream Guards, died on the firing range 2.5 miles outside Camp Bastion in central Helmand, Afghanistan, on 8 October 2009, the inquest at Woking heard. Speaking outside the inquest, LCpl Hill's parents, of Redhill, Surrey, said the Army failed in its duty of care for their son. They said they hoped the MoD would follow the coroner's recommendations to prevent a further tragedy. In a statement released jointly with their son's fiancee Anastasia Newman, they said: "It was not just those responsible for planting the IED that caused his death, but a culture of complacency and a disregard for every soldier's safety that reached right up the chain of command." The coroner criticised the Army for failing to take action to prevent the death of Lance Corporal James Hill. Surrey Coroner Richard Travers said the chain of command had not listened to concerns raised about the potential of insurgents targeting the range and had not provided sufficiently trained units to carry out IED clearance of the site. Read more at http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/lance-corporal-james-hill-inquest-…