Military Judicial Reviews

SNATCH LAND ROVERS: Hodge Jones & Allen represented four relatives of servicemen who were killed when travelling in Snatch Land Rovers in Iraq, described as ‘mobile coffins’ by British soldiers, since 2007. The case finally reached its conclusion with a financial settlement in December 2016 and the receipt of a negotiated apology in May 2017. The apology is significant as the MOD had not acknowledged failings in relation to Snatch (and did not admit liability) but in the apology they recognised that steps should have been taken sooner to replace Snatch Land Rover vehicles from theatre which could have saved lives.

PRIVATE JASON SMITH: Following a lack of disclosure by the Ministry of Defence, we brought a judicial review to challenge the verdict of an inquest into the death of Private Jason Smith, who suffered a fatal heatstroke while serving in Iraq in 2003. This resulted in the Supreme Court quashing the verdict and led to a second inquest which found that the risk of death could have been reduced by adherence to policy on heat illness, in terms of climatic monitoring, hydration and medical treatment, and by the availability of air-conditioned accommodation and vehicles. We won substantial damages and an apology for Jason’s mother from the Ministry of Defence.