# Head of the Army apologises to grieving family of soldier killed by faulty vehicle declaring: ‘We failed him and those who loved him’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/head-of-the-army-apologises-to-grieving-family-of-soldier-killed-by-faulty-vehicle-declaring-we-failed-him-and-those-who-loved-him/
- Published: 2026-11-03T16:08:07+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-03T16:21:07+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16261679/Head-Army-apologises-grieving-family-soldier-killed-faulty-vehicle-declaring-failed-loved-him.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: World

## Key points

- The Army apologised over a soldier’s death in a Scimitar.
- The MoD accepted the HSE’s highest available sanction.
- Earlier near misses had exposed the turret collision risk.

## Summary

The Army’s chief has apologised to the family of Private Jethro Watson-Pickering, who died during a training exercise after a faulty Scimitar vehicle’s gun barrel struck a tree and hit him. The Ministry of Defence accepted a Crown Censure for health and safety failings, the highest sanction available to it, and the Army acknowledged that failures in risk assessment, training and vehicle safety contributed to his death.

Watson-Pickering, 23, died from head injuries on Salisbury Plain on 15 October 2021; two other soldiers were seriously injured. An HSE investigation found there was no safe system for driving the vehicle after its turret was widened, creating a risk when drivers were in a “head-up” position. Three earlier near misses had been recorded, including a 2015 incident in which a driver was injured, and the Scimitar was withdrawn from service in 2023.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.