The family of a 24-year-old soldier killed two years ago on a sniper course in the Highlands expressed disappointment with the findings of a Ministry of Defence report into the cause, published on Thursday.
In a joint statement, his parents – who live in Eastleigh, Hampshire – and two brothers, said it “raises numerous unanswered questions due to the abundance of unsubstantiated speculations and assumptions and factual inaccuracies and inconsistencies”.
Lance-Corporal Joe Spencer, of 3rd Battalion The Rifles, died after a live-firing exercise at an RAF weapons range at Tain in November 2016. Spencer, who had been in the army for five years, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan, had been standing in a shelter with other students during a night sniper exercise.
The 66-page report, carried out by the MoD’s defence safety authority, concluded he was killed when his rifle went off by accident. It said he had been holding his rifle in “an unorthodox and unsafe manner” by resting it on his chin and that, unknown to him or anyone else, it had a round in the chamber.
“Whilst resting his chin on the weapon’s suppressor, equipment or clothing most probably snagged the rifle’s trigger inadvertently, resulting in its discharge. That his weapon was in an unsafe condition, with a round chambered, was extremely likely to have been caused by an incomplete unload drill being carried out earlier that day,” the report says.
It outlines that there are inherent risks in military training, which must, by necessity, be realistic in replicating the demands of the battlefield. But it should also be safe.
It adds “a series of errors, shortfalls and poor judgment conspired” in the death of a highly-regarded soldier. Factors included poor supervision, a change in the training model and a failure to follow mandated procedures, as well as the culture that existed within “elite units such as snipers.
The family, who were given an advance copy of the report last month, said they had been “extremely disappointed” in the findings and had raised a number of questions but had received no response. “We are extremely upset to learn that this report has now been made public without any of our concerns being answered,” they said.
In a separate statement, Spencer’s partner, Cherycce Connelly, echoed the family’s concerns, describing the events that led to his death as shambolic. Many of the errors were needless and did not reflect the duty of care the army owes to servicemen and women, Connelly said.
