Apology accepted – now what about the rest?

Published: 25 March 2009

Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth has apologised for the “avoidable failings” that led to the deaths of two service people in 2007.

Submariners Paul McCann and Anthony Huntrod, a Leading Operator Maintainer and an Operator Maintainer respectively, died on board HMS Tireless when there was an explosion while they were on an exercise in the Arctic.

Without wishing to take anything away from the tragedy of their deaths, two things spring to mind immediately. One: why have their families had to wait two years for an apology? Two: where’s the apology for all the other service people whose deaths can be attributed to shoddy or insufficient equipment?

What about all those people who lost their lives because of a lack of body armour or because they were travelling in Snatch Land Rovers?

It’s good that Bob Ainsworth has apologised and he should be applauded for it. But should it have taken a damning report from a coroner to provoke it – and did he have any alternative but to apologise?

Whatever the truth, we hope that this proves a turning point – that ministers will view their budgeting decisions in human terms and will, in future, put their hands up when they’ve made a mistake, rather than washing their hands of any responsibility.

We’ve seen that far too many times.

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