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07/11/2007
'Army Logistics Failure' Led To Soldier's Death
An Army logistics failure led to the unlawful killing of a British soldier in Iraq, a coroner has ruled.
Gordon Gentle, 19, from the Royal Highland Fusiliers (RHF), was killed in a roadside bomb attack in Basra on June 28, 2004.
However, Selena Lynch, assistant deputy coroner for Oxfordshire, said that the bomb would probably not have detonated had a bomb-disabling device - Element B - been fitted to the Land Rover in which Fusilier Gentle was travelling.
Electric counter measures were in theatre and available for collection by the RHF to be fitted to vehicles on June 16 - two weeks before Fusilier Gentle's death.
Ms Lynch branded the army's supply chain as "chaotic and lacking in clarity".
Speaking after the inquest, Fusilier Gentle's mother Rose, 43, from Glasgow, said that justice had been done. She said: "They have deprived me of a beautiful son and two sisters of a beautiful brother.
"I'm proud of Gordon, but disgusted by the way he's been treated."
A Ministry of Defence spokesman commenting on the death said: "We were immensely saddened at his loss ... and we deeply regret the series of events that contributed to it."
See: Inquest Told ‘Blame Blair’
(KMcA)
Gordon Gentle, 19, from the Royal Highland Fusiliers (RHF), was killed in a roadside bomb attack in Basra on June 28, 2004.
However, Selena Lynch, assistant deputy coroner for Oxfordshire, said that the bomb would probably not have detonated had a bomb-disabling device - Element B - been fitted to the Land Rover in which Fusilier Gentle was travelling.
Electric counter measures were in theatre and available for collection by the RHF to be fitted to vehicles on June 16 - two weeks before Fusilier Gentle's death.
Ms Lynch branded the army's supply chain as "chaotic and lacking in clarity".
Speaking after the inquest, Fusilier Gentle's mother Rose, 43, from Glasgow, said that justice had been done. She said: "They have deprived me of a beautiful son and two sisters of a beautiful brother.
"I'm proud of Gordon, but disgusted by the way he's been treated."
A Ministry of Defence spokesman commenting on the death said: "We were immensely saddened at his loss ... and we deeply regret the series of events that contributed to it."
See: Inquest Told ‘Blame Blair’
(KMcA)
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An Army Board of Inquiry (BoI) into the death of Fusilier Gordon Gentle in Basrah, Iraq has made a number of recommendations. Nineteen-year-old Gordon Gentle of The Royal Highland Fusiliers was killed when the vehicle he was travelling in was attacked with a roadside bomb while on a routine patrol in August 2004.
Soldier inquiry recommends armour review
An Army Board of Inquiry (BoI) into the death of Fusilier Gordon Gentle in Basrah, Iraq has made a number of recommendations. Nineteen-year-old Gordon Gentle of The Royal Highland Fusiliers was killed when the vehicle he was travelling in was attacked with a roadside bomb while on a routine patrol in August 2004.
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Iraq Inquiry Rejected By Lords
Two mothers who lost their sons in the Iraq war have had their appeal into an inquiry of the legitimacy of Britain's involvement in the war quashed.
Iraq Inquiry Rejected By Lords
Two mothers who lost their sons in the Iraq war have had their appeal into an inquiry of the legitimacy of Britain's involvement in the war quashed.
29 October 2007
Inquest Told ‘Blame Blair’
The death of a soldier killed in Iraq has been blamed on former PM, Tony Blair. The dead soldier’s mother said she held Blair personally responsible as the inquest into his death resumed. Fusilier Gordon Gentle, 19, was killed on patrol in Basra on June 28, 2004, and his mother Rose has blamed Army ‘neglect’ for his death.
Inquest Told ‘Blame Blair’
The death of a soldier killed in Iraq has been blamed on former PM, Tony Blair. The dead soldier’s mother said she held Blair personally responsible as the inquest into his death resumed. Fusilier Gordon Gentle, 19, was killed on patrol in Basra on June 28, 2004, and his mother Rose has blamed Army ‘neglect’ for his death.
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Foreign Office to issue death certificates for tsunami missing
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12 March 2010
'Gentle Giant' Murder Reward
Detectives in Hertfordshire have offered a reward for information that will lead to a conviction in the case of murdered 'gentle giant' Gary Bennett. Mr Bennett, 46, was found dead with severe head injuries by members of the public in parkland near a disused kiosk in Elstree on Wednesday 24 February.
'Gentle Giant' Murder Reward
Detectives in Hertfordshire have offered a reward for information that will lead to a conviction in the case of murdered 'gentle giant' Gary Bennett. Mr Bennett, 46, was found dead with severe head injuries by members of the public in parkland near a disused kiosk in Elstree on Wednesday 24 February.
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