Lack of kit blamed for UK soldier's death

Captain James Philippson of 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery in an undated photo.

LONDON (Reuters) - A British soldier died after being sent into combat in Afghanistan with a lack of basic equipment, a coroner said on Friday.

Captain James Philippson of 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery was shot in the head in a gunfight with the Taliban in June 2006.

The 29-year-old from Hertfordshire was the first casualty after troops were deployed to the violent southern province of Helmand, where the Taliban remains strong.

Assistant coroner for Oxfordshire Andrew Walker said he died after an unforgivable "breach of trust between the soldiers and those who govern them".

The inquest at Oxford heard that troops had repeatedly complained about a lack of proper equipment, in particular standard night-vision kits.

Four kits had to be shared between as many as 30 men, the inquest heard.

The Taliban were armed with multiple rocket-propelled grenade launchers and other firepower, it heard.

"They (the soldiers) were defeated not by the terrorists but by the lack of basic equipment," Walker was quoted by the BBC as saying at the end of the inquest.

He said sending troops into a combat zone without basic kit was "unforgivable and inexcusable," he added.

Philippson's father, Anthony Philippson, said after the verdict: "The Treasury and the then-chancellor, Gordon Brown, will be really to blame for what happened."

Philippson was part of a quick-reaction force dispatched to assist another group of British soldiers when it came under attack.

Walker recorded a narrative verdict in which he said Philippson was unlawfully killed.

The Ministry of Defence said in a statement: "Military experts on the Board of Inquiry concluded that Capt Philippson was killed due to a number of contributing factors...although the board concluded that they had enough firepower to deal with the insurgents."

It said it had accepted and implemented all of the board's recommendations, and night-vision goggles are standard issue for infantry soldiers in manoeuvre companies.

Nick Harvey, Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, said: "For years soldiers have been left overstretched and under-equipped.

"How many more tragedies like this must there be before ministers stop rewarding bravery with incompetence?"

(Reporting by Avril Ormsby; Editing by Luke Baker)