Shooting death 'was avoidable' says defence report

THE death of a soldier during a training exercise at RAF Tain was the result of a "series of errors, shortfalls and poor judgement".

L/Cpl Joe Spencer died on 1 November 2016 when his rifle went off while he was resting his chin on it.

And a new report into the incident by the Defence Safety Authority found that the death of the 24-year-old soldier from the 3rd Battalion The Rifles was an "avoidable accident".

Making a number of recommendation, the report said: "While resting his chin on the weapon’s suppressor, equipment or clothing most probably snagged the rifle’s trigger inadvertently, resulting in its discharge.

"That his weapon was in an unsafe condition with a round chambered was extremely likely to have been caused by an incomplete unload drill being carried out earlier that day."

"While the initiative shown by the senior non-commissioned officers in wanting to conduct a Sniper Operators’ Course is commendable, a series of errors, shortfalls and poor judgement conspired and ended in the death of a capable and highly-regarded junior non-commissioned officer."

In a written statement, Cpl Spencer’s family said they were "extremely upset" the report had been published "without any of our concerns being addressed" and were "disappointed" at its findings.

"We advised the service inquiry president that we were extremely disappointed with the content of the report and raised a number of questions," they said.

"We have received no response and are extremely upset to learn that this report has now been made public without any of our concerns being answered.

"However, it is clear to us the individuals responsible for delivering the sniper training course did not do so in accordance with the mandated course syllabus and requisite rules and regulations.

"We strongly believe Joe would still be with us today if they had complied."

An army spokesman said: "The safety and welfare of our personnel is of the utmost importance and we will now carefully consider the recommendations."