A Coroner has recorded narrative verdicts at the inquest of three Army reservists who died during a training exercise on the Brecon Beacons in July 2013.
Speaking outside the Coroner’s Court, Brigadier John Donnelly, Director Personal Services (Army), said:
I would like to apologise for the deaths of James Dunsby, Craig Roberts and Edward Maher: three fine soldiers. I would also like to offer my sincere condolences to their families and friends who have shown great dignity during what has been a very difficult period.
We are truly sorry for all the mistakes that the Coroner identified today. We have already made a number of changes to the exercise in terms of the way it is run as a result of our own investigations and those of the Health and Safety Executive, but we will study the Coroner's conclusion very carefully and make sure everything possible is done to prevent a reoccurrence of an incident such as this. We will also hold our own Service Inquiry as soon as all the civil investigations have finished.
It is necessary to train our soldiers to the highest standards to meet the security challenges that we face both in this country and overseas. To do this requires our individuals to push themselves and take some risk. However, we must ensure that those risks are carefully managed. In this case, we did not do this and accept responsibility.
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