ROBERTSON DEMANDS ASSURANCES OVER DEFENCE SAFETY REPORT

ROBERTSON DEMANDS ASSURANCES OVER DEFENCE SAFETY REPORT

ARMY CHIEFS WARN OF “SENSE OF UNEASE” ON DEPLOYED MUNITIONS

SNP Westminster leader and Defence spokesperson Angus Robertson MP has
called for top level assurances after an internal Ministry of Defence
report revealed “unease” amongst Army chiefs over the safety of
munitions sent to troops in Afghanistan.

The Defence Environment and Safety Board report warns that “The
condition of the explosives estate remains a primary concern for the
Board, with the potential for significant vulnerability. The
consequences of an explosive incident could have a significant impact
on capability, and the potential off-site (public domain) consequences
could have serious implications for the Department. Risk against
compliance with MOD Regulations is increasing and, if agreed, a higher
level of risk (including aggregated risks) may have to be accepted on
resource grounds.”

The 2009 report continues: “Whilst the chairman reports improvements
in assurance arrangements, the DOSB maintains an overall sense of
unease on the safety of deployed OME; this is supported by a
significant number of accidents and incidents…”

Mr Robertson has today (Thursday) written to the Defence Secretary
seeking urgent safety assurances.

Mr Robertson said:

“This report is deeply disturbing, and we must have immediate
assurances that the safety of the public and our troops is not being
compromised.

“It is clear that the MoD has been aware of the problem for some time
and the Defence Secretary must now make this a priority.

“The previous government cut jobs at defence munitions centres, and
this safety report suggests that weapons storage has been run down to
a dangerous level.”

Turning to a warning that that the Safety Board “could not certify
that MoD fuels infrastructure was compliant and that adequate measures
to deal with fuel spills” were in place, Mr Robertson added:

“Just under a year since 100,000 litre of fuel was spilt at HM naval
base Clyde, this report reveals that the Safety Board remain still
cannot certify that they have adequate measures in place to deal with
fuel spills.”