The SAS commander in Afghanistan has reportedly quit in disgust over the equipment available to British troops fighting the Taliban. Skip related content Related photos / videos SAS Major Quits Over Mine Deaths Major Sebastian Morley resigned over four soldiers who died this year when their lightly armoured Snatch Land Rover hit a landmine in Helmand province, The Daily Telegraph said. Defence sources insisted that his departure was for "purely personal reasons". However, it is understood that he was unhappy at the continued use of the Snatch, despite its obvious vulnerability. According to the paper, he believed that Corporal Sarah Bryant - the first female soldier to die in Afghanistan - and three male colleagues, SAS soldiers Corporal Sean Reeve, Lance Corporal Richard Larkin and Paul Stout, all died needlessly. In his resignation letter, Major Morley, the commander of D Squadron, 23 SAS, was said to have blamed "chronic under investment" in equipment by the Ministry of Defence for their deaths. He believed the MoD was guilty of "gross negligence" and that its failure to supply better equipment was "cavalier at best, criminal at worst", the paper said. It quoted one soldier who served with Major Morley as saying: "We highlighted this issue saying people are going to die and now they have died." The disclosure follows the MoD announcing that it was spending £700m on 700 new armoured vehicles for operations in Afghanistan - acknowledging the dangers faced by troops. However, Defence Secretary John Hutton refused to withdraw the Snatch Land Rover saying that it was regarded as "mission critical" to the operation. Instead he promised that the Snatch Land Rover would be upgraded into a new, more powerful variant, called the Snatch Vixen, which was able to carry better protection. There was no official confirmation from the MoD of Major Morley's departure. A spokesman said: "Equipping our personnel is a clear priority and we are absolutely focused on providing them with a range of vehicles that will protect them from the ever-shifting threats posed by the enemy."
Maybe the MoD will listen now, and stop sending our boys to war with protection that basically amounts to candyfloss. Unlikely though, since Westminster seems to have evicerated its own ears...
