The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
824.
On 7 November
2008, Hodge Jones & Allen solicitors wrote to Mr Hutton on
behalf
of Ms Susan
Smith, requesting a public inquiry into the use of Snatch Land
Rovers in
the Iraq
and Afghanistan conflicts.440
Ms Smith’s
son, Private Phillip Hewett, was killed
on
16 July 2005 in an IED attack in al‑Amara whilst travelling in
a Snatch Land Rover.
825.
Treasury
Solicitors replied on 15 December, enclosing a letter from
Mr Hutton
to Ms
Smith.441
Mr Hutton’s
letter said that, “after thinking very carefully about
what
has been
said on this issue … a public inquiry would not be the right way to
proceed”.
He would
be issuing a Written Ministerial Statement the following day but
had wanted
to write
to Ms Smith personally.
826.
Mr Hutton
explained that the reasons for not holding a public inquiry into
the use
of Snatch
were:
•
The clear
advice from military commanders, unanimously endorsed by
the
Chiefs of
Staff, was that Snatch vehicles were “essential to the success
of
operations
in both Iraq and Afghanistan”.
•
Heavier
vehicles such as Warrior or Mastiff could not replace Snatch
because
they could
not “be used for all purposes” and were “simply unable to access”
the
necessary
places to deliver the UK’s objectives.
•
Better
armoured vehicles, which tended to be larger and heavier, were
“viewed
by the
local population as aggressive and intimidating”. That made it
more
difficult
for the military to engage with local people and win their
confidence.
The larger
vehicles also could cause “serious damage” to local
infrastructure
such as
roads, buildings and drainage systems. Those factors could
“inflame
local
opinion against UK troops” and increase the threat level
overall.
827.
Mr Hutton
said that that meant “a critical requirement” for a light PPV such
as
Snatch
remained. He referred to the “number of technical enhancements” to
Snatch
since its
first deployment to Iraq in 2003. He stated that the introduction
of its new
variant,
the Snatch Vixen, along with the procurement of additional Mastiff
vehicles,
would
enable the UK “to continue reducing the scope of the Snatch 2A
vehicle’s role
until it
is used only within [UK] camps”.
828.
In his Written
Ministerial Statement on 16 December, Mr Hutton referred to
the
“widespread
public concern over the thirty‑seven deaths of British servicemen
and
women in
Iraq and Afghanistan as a result of injuries sustained while using
Snatch
440
Letter
Cockburn [Hodge Jones & Allen] to Hutton, 7 November 2008,
‘Snatch Land Rovers’.
441
Letter
Kennedy [Treasury Solicitors] to Cockburn [Hodge Jones &
Allen], 15 December 2008,
‘Snatch Land
Rovers’ enclosing Letter Hutton to Smith, 15 December 2008,
[untitled].
442
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 16
December 2008, columns 103WS – 104WS.
142