The Ministry of Defence avoided prosecution over the deaths of three army reservists during an SAS recruitment exercise only because it had crown immunity, the Health and Safety Executive has revealed.
The body issued the ministry with a so-called crown censure yesterday over the failings that led to the men’s deaths in the Brecon Beacons on one of the hottest days of 2013. Were it not for crown immunity, it said, the case would have gone to prosecution with “a realistic prospect of securing a conviction”.
Corporal James Dunsby, 31, Lance Corporal Craig Roberts, 24, and Lance Corporal Edward Maher, 31, collapsed with heat exhaustion as temperatures reached 29.5C during the exercise. Roberts and Maher died on the hillside and Dunsby died of organ failure in hospital two weeks later.
The HSE investigation found that the risks involved had not been properly assessed or managed, contributing directly to the men’s deaths.
Issuing the censure, Neil Craig, head of operations at the HSE, said: “Military training is inherently hazardous. However, such testing needs to be managed effectively. The MoD has a duty to manage the risks during training exercises. It failed to do so on this occasion.”
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Lawyers for Dunsby’s family called for the lifting of crown immunity to allow military chiefs to be prosecuted, adding that they did not consider crown censures “an adequate means by which to hold the MoD accountable”. The censure coincided with figures showing that 135 servicemen and women have died on training and exercises since 2000, a rate of one every six weeks.
An MoD spokesman said: “The MoD acknowledges this censure and has apologised for the failures identified . . . We have made several improvements to reduce the risks on such exercises.”