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Ministry of Defence ‘failed’ British soldier killed during training exercise on Salisbury Plain
The Ministry of Defence has accepted responsibility for failings that contributed to the death of 23-year-old Private Jethro Watson-Pickering during an Army training exercise on Salisbury Plain. The Army’s chief, General Sir Roly Walker, apologised to his family and friends, saying Watson-Pickering should not have died.
On 15 October 2021, Watson-Pickering was driving a Scimitar-variant armoured vehicle during Exercise Iron Storm when its protruding gun barrel struck a tree. The turret swung round, and a storage bin attached to it hit his head, causing fatal injuries. The Health and Safety Executive found there was no safe system of work, that risk assessments missed the danger and were not properly reviewed after earlier incidents, and issued the MoD a Crown Censure, its maximum available sanction. The Army says it has since made changes to prevent a similar incident.
In short
- The Army accepted failings that contributed to a soldier’s death.
- Jethro Watson-Pickering was 23 when he died in 2021.
- The HSE issued the MoD its maximum sanction, a Crown Censure.