A recent investigation by the BBC has found that the Ministry of Defence breached Health and Safety Laws 40 times in the last 20 years, renewing calls for a change in the Law to allow prosecution of the Ministry of Defence for negligence. The investigation focuses on training and selection processes for the military where soldiers were required to complete exercises, including long distance ‘against the clock’ marches in high temperatures and with little wind to cool the soldiers. Multiple soldiers have died as a result of the same SAS selection test in 2013 when they were required to march 16 miles as quickly as possible wearing 25kg packs. The day in question was one of the hottest of the year and a Senior Coroner investigating the deaths ruled that the Army’s planning that day was “poor” and that they had been “neglected by the Army”. 

 

Despite this finding, another soldier died during an annual Army fitness test in July 2016. Corporal Hoole, described as one of the fittest soldiers in his unit and having toured Afghanistan on active service, collapsed and died near the end of the course he was set. Almost half of the soldiers participating that day 18 out of 41, either dropped out, collapsed or were withdrawn by medical staff.