This is bbc world news, the headlines the head of the World Health Organization is warning that the world is at a Tipping Point with respect to the coronavirus outbreak. He said the window of opportunity to contain the virus was narrowing. Russia has rejected accusations in the us that it is attempting to help President Trump win the election in november as paranoid pronouncements. Mr trump has called it a hoax. Jurors in the Sexual Assault trial of the former american film producer, harvey weinstein, have ended four days of deliberations in new york, with instructions from the presiding judge to resume on monday. An agreement on a week long reduction in hostilities has come into effect in afghanistan. The deal was reached between american and taliban negotiators. If it holds, the two sides will sign the first
phase of a peace deal next week. At ten oclock clive myrie will be here will be here with a full round up of the days news. First a family breaks their silence after their son died not on the battlefield but after mistakes during an exercise in wales. Wales investigates reveals the true extent of fatal failures by the mod and follows parents as they question why lessons are not being learned. Help this postcard will. It has been a fascinating talking to people about their different views and opinions on god and life in general. Looking forward to seeing you soon. Love you, craig. It was getting late but i was waiting for him to ring because i knew it was his first year selection. And then at 11 30pm there was a knock on the door. And as soon as he said mod i knew craig was dead. He came in and explained how crack was going up a hill and that he had had a heart attack. Craig roberts signed up as a reservist at university. He wanted to join the
reserve sas. It is not what we wa nted reserve sas. It is not what we wanted to hear but he was passion and said he wanted to be the best soldier that he could be and they we re soldier that he could be and they were the best of the best. Since we we re were the best of the best. Since we were worried about what he could be asked to do if he was deployed but the thought of training did not occui the thought of training did not occur to us at all. Craig and two other reservists died while attempting a special forces selection test in the Brecon Beacons in 2013. An inquest found that the exercise was run by people who had not been trained properly and planning was poor. Things went terribly wrong up there. We should not be talking about failures or debts within training exercises. With things in place that could prevent it. To stay safe on the battlefield, tough training is
essential. This is where some of the most extreme tests take place including for the sas. Just three yea rs including for the sas. Just three years after Craig Roberts died here in the Brecon Beacons came more grave concerns about safety. Soldier has died after training in brecon in mid wales was a 26 year old corporal. He was participating to take part in a better course. Three similar deaths occurred in 2013 also training in the Brecon Beacons during hot weather. My phone started to wait up. We thought it was the same thing had happened again. To light up. It was just a year after the inquest into crackpots by death thatjoshua died ina into crackpots by death thatjoshua died in a different exercise near brecon in a different training
exercise. We felt very sad for joshs parents. It should not have happened again, yet it has. I dont wa nt to happened again, yet it has. I dont want to see any more parents going through what we have been through. It was just so avoidable. Through what we have been through. It wasjust so avoidable. Joshs father philip who served 2a years in the army himself was told his son simply had an underlying heart problem. But he fought to have the inquest reopened late last year. Troubled by the news, the roberts wa nted troubled by the news, the roberts wanted to lend support tojoshuas family. They travelled from their home in north wales to the inquest in birmingham. They wanted to know if the promises of improved safety
made by the mod had been capped. The senior coroner concluded that the failure of the army to learn from previous mistakes was very concerning relatives of those who died six years ago were in court alongside the corporals family. I spent two years of my life working to get the results today. It is my belief that the ministry of defence failed in its duty of care to implement any meaningful changes. This whole process has given me no pleasure. I would this whole process has given me no pleasure. Iwould rather this whole process has given me no pleasure. I would rather have my son not be classed as a preventable death. He said he did not want to make the army any softer. He simply wa nted make the army any softer. He simply wanted the ministry of defence to learn lessons. Thousands of soldiers train across wales every year. Recruitment videos talk about good preparation and
doing the right thing. The confidence that last a lifetime is one place you will find that. At some 110w one place you will find that. At some now question if we can have confidence in their safety. There is a lwa ys confidence in their safety. There is always going to be risk. It is not no risk, but the army were aware that their quality and standard of training on risk assessments was below standard, that they had to do some thing about it. Louis cherry is a former army officer. For decades he has represented servicemen and women as a solicitor. And has followed cases of deaths in training. The inquest into thousand 19 into the death of corporaljoshua showed that a virtually identical situation arose at has happened in
the deaths of the three reservists in 2013 for some is there something cultural in the army which allows these mistakes to happen into repeat themselves . From my knowledge and experience and i am regularly talking to servicemen and women, no one has ever said to me that they have ever been told to stop a test because they think it is dangerous. Craig roberts and joshua were both on training exercises near brecon when they died. So what were the m ista kes when they died. So what were the mistakes which were repeated just a few years apart . Back in 2013, craigs test was a 16 mile march over steep mountains against the clock. But the five kilos on his back, high humidity, and not a breath of wind. Two men were
withdrawn early on severely affected by heat, a sign that others were at risk. These were warnings no matter how fit these young men were, the heat, the extreme exercise, and their determination to finish was a potentially fatal combination. By the time a third soldier was withdrawn because of heat illness at 1426, withdrawn because of heat illness at 11126, craig was charging towards the finish but he too overheated, collapse, and could not be revived. Opportunities to stop the march anti safe craigs life had been missed. Edward mayer and james dunns b also died from the effects of the heat that day. An army officer later spoke to craigs family. He said why wasnt it postponed because of the heat . He looked at us and said it would have been too much paperwork. An inquest found that the army had failed to
train its staff properly on just how dangerous the heat could be. Train its staff properly on just how dangerous the heat could belj train its staff properly on just how dangerous the heat could be. I dont expect the lads to be looking after themselves because you can self monitor yourself if you go into heat illness. Because you dont know you have got into it. The health and safety executive found the water had been breached on that exercise. But unlike a private company, it could not take the mod to court because it has immunity from prosecution and a health and safety law. Found the law had been breached. Instead the hse issued its most serious sanction, a crown hse issued its most serious sanction, a crown censure. Hse issued its most serious sanction, a crown censure. It felt so sanction, a crown censure. It felt so weak. Three boys steps with this piece of paper, it felt so weak. How can they get away with not being punished like a corporation with being taken to court . Like roberts,
josh was considered one of the fittest and his unit. His was a two hour march over eight miles carrying 25 kilos. Less than an hour in, a soldier collapsed into a hedge. Some of those on the march described it as feeling hotter than afghanistan at times. It may be hard to believe but added up the weight on your back, the lack of the wind because of the hedgerows, and the steepness of the hedgerows, and the steepness of the hedgerows, and the steepness of the hill sections, and the risks we re of the hill sections, and the risks were beginning to mount. By half past eight, a second soldier collapsed with his eyes rolling back in his head. He was told he was lucky to have survived. The second soldier collapsing was a Second Opportunity to stop the march. But information was not passed on and again, signs of heat illness were
not recognised. Much like in 2013, there were two chances to intervene and stop the exercise. But there was and stop the exercise. But there was a lack of training and not enough clear advice given to those in charge on the ground. The very thing the army had been worn to put right before. Joshua collapsed a few hundred metres from the end of the march. Despite immediate medical help, he died. The senior quarter concluded he had an Underlying Health condition not previously identified but set a combination of factors that led to his death adding that unbalance had to test nikon had, the corporal would not have died. When they promise us they promise us lessons would be learned. But it is like reading crackpot site inquest because they have not learned. Reading
crackpots inquest. The roberts are petitioning the Prime Minister to change the law. To have this safety net of immune to prosecution. Every Single Company would wealth that. And it should be removed of them. Would love it that. That. And it should be removed of them. Would love it that. We have discovered that those failings, those mistakes are costing the mod a lot of money. Pay outs for injuries because of excess heat or cold have costed £18 million a year. But it is about a lot more than money. Over the past two decades, 148 Service Personnel have died. Not in battle but in training for some. How
quickly can the heat to become a danger even in these welsh hills . This professor is an expert on how the climate affects the human body. We are monitoring the courts average 01 we are monitoring the courts average or inside and on the outside we can monitor the heart rate. He gave evidence at the inquest of those who died in the heat in the Brecon Beacons. We have not made it that hard, 22 celsius to simulate what is happening in the field to show that it doesnt have to be extremely hot to get problems with heat illness. The volunteer alex was an athlete in a University Rowing team. He has 20 kilos on his back and has been marching for an hour uphill. With lance to replicate the sun, high humidity and no wind, his core body temperature heads towards 39
degrees. In the lab we would bet him go on for another 20 minutes before we would have to take him out for safety regulations. And in the field if you say that if you would let him go on if you say that if you would let him gooni if you say that if you would let him go on i think within the next 45 minutes, he could develop health issues. Out in the field, military instructors rely on mod guidance on how long extreme exercise can safely continue. But that guidance has been described as confusing and not eve ryo ne described as confusing and not everyone appears to know about it. Mod has to find a way to empower the people on the ground to act on what they see, act on these guidelines and either stop exercises, change exercises, or pull individuals out of the exercise if they see there is a problem. How did that feel . Hot, very hot. And how does that compare with the same exercise at a much
lower temperature . My head is throbbing, i am sweating way more. Just a lot. How much longer do you think could have gone on without the need to slow down or stop . |j think could have gone on without the need to slow down or stop . I set about half an hour, 45 minutes. And it is that determination to carry on that sadly proved fatal in military training. Over the years we have seen many accidents, many people suffering from heat illness because they just have to suffering from heat illness because theyjust have to be tough and just do thejob they theyjust have to be tough and just do the job they are supposed to do. This device is potentially a life saver. It monitors the environment to tell you how warm it really is. The military has had them since before the three fatalities in 2013. But when josh called since before the three fatalities in 2013. But whenjosh called died, this wasnt being used properly. The
mod promised to train people on it and to introduce warning labels. But as of late last year, they had not even done that. The mod told us it was still working progress. And it is working hard to adjust the failings raised by the corner. But we can reveal that in the past two decades, the ministry of defence has breached health and safety laws 40 times. Of course there have been nor court cases because of its immunity from prosecution. The mod says it carries out its own investigations but even then families have found basic errors. The roberts were told that craig had hidden an underlying heart condition. They suggest that crack would not have told them. You might not tell your parents but our son would certainly tell us. The
ministry of defence later apologised for looking at the wrong medical notes. If they looked at his records, they would have seen that the date of birth. The addresses we re wrong, so the date of birth. The addresses were wrong, so they could not check very hard. The evidence was there. They just chose to very hard. The evidence was there. Theyjust chose to brush over it and come to their own conclusion. And to the roberts family, apologies given by the army for the deaths of crack, james, edward, and josh sounded all too familiar. James, edward, and josh sounded alltoofamiliar. We are truly sorry for all the mistakes that the coroner identified today. The mod has acknowledged that the aspects of the policy in place could had been better. We will study the corners conclusion very carefully. We shall act upon the recommendations which have come from this inquest. To find out if they cannot challenge the mods out if they cannot challenge the mods immunity today the roberts are getting some advice. Hillary has
acted in military cases for over 30 yea rs. Acted in military cases for over 30 years. It isjust so frustrating when you see this massive body that just does not move. It could be a whole number of things that something has to be done to make them wake up and say we have to actually change the way we operate. In my view, the way forward to try and stop this again is to try and Petition Parliament maybe to get the law changed so that immunity is taken law changed so that immunity is ta ken away from law changed so that immunity is taken away from military defence and that should be high on this Parliament Street west. From ministry of defence. So far we have been hearing about incidents here in the Brecon Beacons, concerns about heat exhaustion and risk assessments. But we have discovered there have been concerns and warnings about a whole other area of military training. Where wives have
again been put at risk and even loss. This site near chepstow is often loss. This site near chepstow is ofte n ta ke n loss. This site near chepstow is often ta ken over loss. This site near chepstow is often taken over by the military to train underwater divers. At 80 metres deep, it is not without risks. You need good equipment and well trained instructors. We have uncovered this internal mod report commissioned in 2002 after a spate of diving deaths. It urges the top brass to make substantial changes to equipment and training which were not up to 21st century standards but less tha n not up to 21st century standards but less than two years after this report was written, it was appeared that those warnings were not being heated. Sergeant bill mcclendon died injusta heated. Sergeant bill mcclendon died injust a few heated. Sergeant bill mcclendon died in just a few metres of water during an exercise in germany in 2004. He
was wearing the same kit the army was wearing the same kit the army was warned it should have replaced and training at the time was still lacking. Then in 2016, the mod was again warned its new diving kit still had safety problems. Those concerns were overruled. Then two yea rs concerns were overruled. Then two years later, there was another death. Lieutenant Corporal George partridge died 14 years after the first major warnings, another failure to learn lessons by the mod. And still, no training for diving officers. The mod says it has conducted a complete review of military diving following george partridges death and investigations are ongoing. It always seemed to be
are ongoing. It always seemed to be a similar pattern. It is always that people in higher places have identified that things need to change but they dont seem to change and they do not change quick enough. Louis cherry says he has raised serious concerns about safety with the mod. Even about some of the most recent changes the army has made to training. Phase one is the loaded march. He claims there is so no simple guidance about when exercises like this should stop because of the heat. It seems that they have rushed this through without putting in the requisite in my mind safety precautions to run that test and until the army put all those in place fully and properly, i fear for the wives of young men and women who are doing this test in 2020. The lives. The mot told us that the
policy on heat illness is regularly reviewed and has been updated six times since 2015 with more attention now paid to climatic injury. The mod told us. We know that craigs health and safety has not been approved, maybe the rest of the army have not been on it as much. They keep using this lame excuse of we will learn from our mistakes and clearly history has proved that they are not very good at learning. After taking advice from hillary, the roberts are taking their campaign to westminster. They want mps to remove the immunity the mod has from prosecution under health and safety law. And they are
meeting plaid cymrus spokesperson onjustice. It really seems to be something that is out of its time. It should be changed, and