The army's Ajax vehicle injured troops and cost billions - there must be accountability

The army's £10m Ajax warring conveyance was not an mishap waiting to hap - but 1 that was already unfolding adjacent arsenic a defence curate declared it to beryllium safe.

Luke Pollard, the curate liable for procurement, asked for and was fixed successful penning "senior assurances" that erstwhile problems with sound and vibration had been resolved earlier helium announced connected 6 November that it was acceptable for use.

He besides said different countries mightiness beryllium funny successful buying what the UK authorities has billed arsenic "the world's astir precocious medium-weight armoured warring vehicle".

Yet, hardly a fortnight later, 31 troops suffered sickness and proceeding issues aft being deployed connected the Ajax vehicles during warfare games connected Salisbury Plain.

Also - conscionable weeks earlier Mr Pollard made his announcement astatine a mill successful Merthyr Tydfil, wherever the American defence institution General Dynamics is manufacturing the machines - yet much soldiers had go unwell and adjacent had to spell to infirmary aft their clip wrong the vehicles.

The procurement curate and his boss, John Healey, the defence secretary, volition surely beryllium demanding answers from General Sir Roly Walker, the caput of the army, arsenic good arsenic civilian servants astatine the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) procurement limb - Defence Equipment and Support - and General Dynamics.

Ministers indispensable beryllium perplexed arsenic to however this could perchance beryllium happening again.

A litany of woes affecting the £5.5bn Ajax declaration has been good documented by respective inquiries. They were triggered erstwhile erstwhile trials of the conveyance were belatedly halted successful 2020 aft troops were harmed by excessive sound and vibration.

An probe into that debacle recovered that elder officers had failed to enactment contempt knowing for up to 2 years that the Ajax conveyance enactment soldiers astatine hazard of harm.

The wellness and information study called the nonaccomplishment "complex and systemic" and said a civilization existed of not treating information arsenic being arsenic important to outgo and time.

Read more: The Ajax warring vehicle

Efforts were made to find a hole with amended receptor extortion and much cushions connected seats, and trials restarted.

But the information that soldiers are inactive experiencing issues with proceeding arsenic good arsenic sickness and shakes from riding wrong the vehicles suggests the underlying origin has not been resolved.

Defenders of the programme accidental that each armoured vehicles are noisy and vibrate.

But Ajax is billed arsenic "world-class", with a terms tag to match.

'Debacle has been a catastrophe for the army'

It can't beryllium excessively overmuch to inquire that troops debar wounded wrong them earlier ever heading towards an progressive frontline.

The full debacle has been a catastrophe for the service which is successful hopeless request of caller warring vehicles aft erstwhile attempts to get fleets implicit the decades floundered arsenic budgets were squeezed.

It is besides a idiosyncratic calamity for those soldiers astir severely impacted who person been near with imperishable proceeding damage.

Mr Pollard has moved rapidly to bid that each usage of the Ajax beryllium halted for 2 weeks aft learning astir the latest incidental implicit the play connected Salisbury Plain.

A information probe is being carried out.

But erstwhile a erstwhile bout of proceeding and sickness injuries during Ajax trials implicit the summertime emerged, the MoD justified pushing connected with declaring the conveyance to beryllium operational due to the fact that nary "systemic" occupation had been found.

If that verdict changes, the clip indispensable surely travel for genuine accountability for a programme that is moving years late, has outgo the state billions of pounds, affected the wellness of soldiers and near the service without caller armour astatine a clip of increasing threats.

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Commenting connected what happened astatine the weekend, an MoD spokesperson said: "This intermission underlines our implicit committedness to the information of our personnel.

"As with immoderate large instrumentality programme, we proceed to trial and refine the conveyance to guarantee information and performance."

General Dynamics has been approached for comment.