The Report of the Iraq Inquiry

purchases, over 38,000 complete sets of body armour were deployed to theatre.

This should have met the total requirement, but late delivery against an advancing

timescale, coupled with difficulties in equipment tracking and control of issue, led to

localised shortfalls.”254

510.  The NAO’s December 2003 report on Op TELIC stated:

“ … 21,759 [desert pattern] covers and 32,581 pairs of plates were issued into

the supply chain by 24 March 2003. However, the Department’s Defence Clothing

Integrated Project Team estimated that approximately 200,000 sets had been issued

since the Kosovo campaign in 1999, greatly exceeding the theoretical requirement,

but these seem to have disappeared. The Team questioned whether items should,

therefore, be issued as part of an individual’s personal entitlement for which they

would be held accountable.”255

511.  The NAO also reported that “insufficient numbers [of body armour] were distributed

in theatre, largely as a result of difficulties with asset tracking and distribution.”

512.  The House of Commons Defence Committee concluded that:

“Body armour is another example of where MOD’s in-theatre distribution and

tracking led to shortages in critical equipment … MOD should identify and implement

solutions to address these shortcomings and ensure that service personnel receive

the equipment they are entitled to.”256

513.  On 7 September, Mr Martin Howard, MOD Director General Operational Policy,

wrote to Mr Ingram, asking him to note that, following scrutiny in recent House of

Commons Defence Committee, Public Accounts Committee and NAO reports, a new

policy had been endorsed by the Chiefs of Staff in June whereby “all entitled personnel”

would deploy on operations with a full set of ECBA.257 This policy had already been

implemented and was being monitored.

514.  The Board of Inquiry into Sgt Roberts’ death concluded that he would not have

been fatally injured if he had been wearing ECBA at the time.258

254  Ministry of Defence, Operations in Iraq: Lessons for the Future, December 2003.

255  National Audit Office, Operation TELIC – United Kingdom Military Operations in Iraq,

11 December 2003, HC 60.

256  Third Report from the Defence Committee, Session 2003-04, Lessons of Iraq, HC 57-I, para 262.

257  Minute DG Op Pol to PS/Minister(AF), 7 September 2004, ‘Enhanced Combat Body Armour (ECBA) –

An Update’.

258  BBC News, 31 July 2006, Iraq death due to kit shortage attaching link to Report, [undated], ‘Board

of Inquiry into death of Sgt Steven Roberts’.

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