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Mother in Snatch vehicle victory | Mother in Snatch vehicle victory |
(10 minutes later) | |
The mother of a soldier killed in Iraq has won the right to a judicial review of the government's refusal to hold a public inquiry into Snatch Land Rovers. | |
Susan Smith, of Tamworth, Staffordshire, whose son Phillip, 21, died in 2005, is challenging the use of the vehicles in Afghanistan and Iraq. | |
But Mr Justice Mitting said the review would not cover the present and future use of the lightly armoured vehicles. | |
They have been criticised for offering poor protection from bomb blasts. | |
The High Court heard that 37 soldiers had died in Iraq and Afghanistan while using the vehicles since 2005. | The High Court heard that 37 soldiers had died in Iraq and Afghanistan while using the vehicles since 2005. |
However, the judge said the vehicles' present and future deployment was "unimpeachable" in the courts. | |
Ms Smith's son, a private in the 1st Battalion Staffordshire Regiment, and two other soldiers were killed in the Al Amarah region of Iraq on 16 July 2005. | |
Pte Hewett was driving a Snatch Land Rover when it was hit by a roadside bomb attack on three of the vehicles on patrol. | |
Mr Justice Mitting said three issues could be investigated if a full inquiry was held. | |
These were: | |
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The Snatch was originally designed for use in Northern Ireland as a cheap and quick way of moving troops about. |