Families of those who have died or injured, have asked Des Browne, to meet with them to explain why British soldiers are still being sent on patrol or in convoys in Snatch Land Rovers.
The MoD are fully aware of the dangers and know that Snatch offer little or no protection against the type of explosive devices being used in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also know of the concerns voiced by military experts as well as those serving in these conflicts and their families.
There was a review of armoured vehicles in June / July 2006 but this did not lead to Snatch Land Rovers being taken out of theatre.
At my son’s inquest in January this year the Coroner said that it was outside her jurisdiction to investigate whether Snatch should be used. I felt let down by the inquest which only lasted 3 hours and therefore contacted a solicitor to see if anything could be done.
As the deaths in Snatch continue to stack up I and others have been moved to take this matter up with the Secretary of State and on 3rd September we wrote to ask him to meet with us.  
There is power in numbers so please email my solicitor Jocelyn Cockburn on: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it if you want to be added to the list or have information about Snatch which might help.
 
Susan Smith
(mother of Phillip Hewett – died in a Snatch Land Rover in Iraq on 16 July 2005).

Soldiers who have died whilst travelling in Snatch Land Rovers in Iraq:

28.6.04 Gordon Gentle
9.8.04 Private Lee O'Callaghan
28.9.04 Corp Marc Taylor & Gunner David Lawrence
2.5.05 Guardsman Anthony John Wakefield
29.5.05 Corp Alan Brackenbury
16.7.05 Lieut Richard Shearer, Private Leon Spicer & Private Phillip Hewett
5.9.05 Fusilier Donal Meade & Fusiler Stephen Manning
11.9.05 Major Matthew Bacon
20.11.05 Sgt John Jones
31.1.06 Corp Gordon Pritchard
28.2.06 Capt Richard Holmes & Private Lee Ellis
16.4.06 Lt Richard Palmer
13.5.06 Private Joseva Lewaicel Adam Morris
28.5.06 Lieut Tom Mildenhall & Lance Corp Paul Farrelly
4.9.06 Gunner Samuela Vanua & Gunner Stephen Wright
28.12.07  Sgt Graham Hesketh
9.2.07 Private Luke Simpson
27.2.07 Rifleman Daniel Lee Coffey
4.3.07 Private Jonathon Wysoczan
6.5.07 Private Kenvin Thompson.