The family of a soldier killed in a tragedy involving a faulty car has welcomed the “first meaningful apology” from the army chief, who accepted a formal reprimand over the tragedy.
Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Rolly Walker, today attended a hearing to receive a Crown censure from the Health and Safety Executive, where he met relatives of Sergeant John McKelvey, 51.
The Iraq and Kosovo veteran died in January 2019, after he was spotted by a second jackal while driving on an overturned training circuit at the Catterick training area in North Yorkshire.
The vehicles had a series of faults for more than a decade before the tragedy, which spun more than 40 times, but an investigation earlier this year found nothing had been done to fix their stability problems.
The roll bars, part of the structure designed to protect tall occupants in the event of a rollover, were also inadequate, a separate internal MoD investigation found.
Sergeant John McKelvey, 51, died from brain injuries after driving the Jackal several times during a training exercise.
His family welcomed the army chief’s “first meaningful apology” (a jackal car).
John McKelvey and his sisters Jacqueline Welsh (left) and Cheryl Scott (right)
General Sir Rowley admitted that 6ft 4in Sergeant McKelvie, a 22-year veteran of the service who became a reservist after retiring from the regular army, died “because we didn’t do enough to protect him”.
He apologized “unreservedly” to the relatives of the Scottish and Northern Irish Yeomanry soldier, adding that the army had “failed” him and that his life “did not have to be lost in this way”.
SSGT McKelvey’s sister Jackie Welsh, who previously accused the MoD of having “blood on its hands” over the death, said: “This is the first meaningful apology I have sincerely felt in five and a half years.” I had never felt it before, not even once.
Welsh said that while she and her family attended the four-hour hearing, in which the details of SSGT McKelvey’s death were completely “difficult”, they felt the Health and Safety Executive had done a “fantastic job”. Ministry of Defense must be held accountable.
A number of changes have been implemented, including changes to the order governing its use, including restrictions on the height of soldiers wearing the Jackal, the hearing at Army headquarters in Andover was told. Changes to rollover protection will not begin until next year.
But Mrs Welsh added: “It should not have taken John’s death to make these changes; “That should have been when they realized there was a problem.”
The Crown censorship was imposed because the Ministry of Defense and the Army are immune from prosecution for health and safety offences.
Sgt McKelvie was one of five soldiers killed in four incidents over five years involving vehicles with potentially fatal faults known to the MoD but not repaired, a Daily Mail audit revealed in August.
The Health and Safety Executive continues to investigate the remaining three incidents.
In his apology, General Sir Raleigh said: “I apologize unreservedly for failing to maintain the level of security reasonably expected of the British Army.”
Pictured: Lieutenant General Sir Roland ‘Rally’ Walker, who today met relatives of Sgt John McKelvey, 51.
Sgt McKelvey died in January 2019 after a second jackal sign he was driving on a training course overturned at Catterick training area in North Yorkshire (file photo)
‘Sergeant John McKelvey died because we did not do enough to protect him from the risk of death. My deepest condolences to John’s family and friends for a soldier who did not need to lose like this.
‘We have failed John and I am very sorry. We are committed to learning and adapting, so this never happens to another family, another regiment, or another group of friends.’
General Sir Rowley said the Health and Safety Executive inquiry, the MoD internal service inquiry and the inquiry in June this year will ensure “real change” by “checking and identifying our failings”.
He also said it was necessary to “restore the confidence of others in the safety and oversight of high-risk training.”
Mrs Welsh previously said her brother, from Ayrshire, was dedicated to his military career and had “put himself in dangerous situations for years” but “died in a training exercise accident which was avoidable and preventable”.
He said: ‘If the MoD had done its job correctly, my brother would have been alive. The Ministry of Defense failed him and our family. They have blood on their hands.
Wing Commander Paul Summers, chairman of a service inquiry that investigated the father-of-two’s death and found 179 faults, told an inquiry in June that there was “no evidence that anything had been done” to fix the problems at the vehicle. He said: “The army was not a good organization that learned about security.”
In a descriptive verdict, the inquest jury said the tragedy was caused by a lack of neck and head support, an inappropriate training area for the vehicle, SSGT McKelvey’s inexperience in its operation and a lack of supervision by part of his chain of command.
The Health and Safety Executive said no “hazard control” measures had been taken with the fox.
These include failures in driving courses, such as inadequate training before drivers are asked to attempt to overcome “challenging obstacles”, such as a steep slope where accidents occur.
Risk assessments “were not appropriate or adequate” and, despite many previous “rollover events,” the Army failed to foresee what could go wrong.
HSE inspector Mark Slater said: “All training, which should be as realistic as possible, should be planned, risk assessed and delivered in a way that does not put those involved at risk.”
“If the systems deployed by the military had been more robust, SSGT McKelvie would probably still be alive.”
The Ministry of Defense said there had been a “complete policy review” since the incident.
