The head of the Army has issued a formal apology to the family of a soldier killed by a defective vehicle during a training exercise five years ago. The apology comes after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) accepted a Crown Censure from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for health and safety failings that contributed to the death of Private Jethro Watson-Pickering.
Private Watson-Pickering, 23, died from catastrophic head injuries on Salisbury Plain in October 2021 while driving a Scimitar light tank. The investigation found that modifications to the vehicle had created a risk of the gun barrel colliding with the driver’s head. During the exercise, the gun barrel of Pte Watson-Pickering’s vehicle collided with a tree, causing the turret to rotate violently and strike the soldier.
Two other soldiers were seriously injured in the incident. The HSE investigation determined that there was “no safe system” for driving the vehicle, citing failures in risk assessment, training, and the provision of a safe vehicle. The Crown Censure is the highest sanction available against the MoD, as it cannot be prosecuted for health and safety breaches.
Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Roly Walker, stated, “We failed him and those who loved him.” He added, “We failed to properly assess and control the risks, failed in our training and instruction, and failed to provide a safe vehicle. Jethro should never have died.” He offered his sincere condolences to Pte Watson-Pickering’s family and friends.
Moira Watson-Pickering, the soldier's mother, has been campaigning to prevent similar training incidents. She previously expressed the desire for soldiers to be kept safe while learning their duties. HSE inspector Emma O’Hara commented that the MoD “failed to take all reasonably practicable steps to control the risks to the safety of its employees, which has cost a young man his life.”
Previous incidents involving the Scimitar had highlighted risks associated with the widened turret, particularly when drivers operated in a 'head-up' position. A report from 2022 indicated that previous near-miss accidents, as far back as 2008, were not adequately investigated, and no changes were made to mitigate risks. The internal military report also found that Pte Watson-Pickering and his colleagues received inadequate training, and the vehicle was in poor repair and “should not have been in use.”
The MoD has since accepted all service inquiry recommendations and has instructed soldiers not to drive the Scimitar in a 'head-up' position. The Scimitar was withdrawn from UK service in 2023.
Pte Watson-Pickering was one of five soldiers who died between 2017 and 2022 in incidents involving faulty vehicles with known defects. These tragedies involved other armoured vehicles such as the Challenger II tank, Warrior, and Jackal. Service inquiry reports into these incidents identified nearly 300 failings and made 227 recommendations. The MoD had previously accepted a Crown Censure over the death of SSgt John McKelvie, killed by a faulty Jackal in 2019, for which General Walker also issued an apology.