Wales investigates. Hope this postcard finds you well. I am in a monastery at the moment in a place called taize. It has been fascinating talking to people about their different views and opinions on god and life in general. Looking forward to seeing you again and telling you all about it. Love, craig. It was getting late, but i was waiting because i knew hed ring because it was his first day of selection. Then at 11 30 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 craig was going up a hill and hed had a heart attack. Craig roberts from penrhyn bay, near llandudno, signed up as a reservist at university. He wanted to join the reserve sas. Its not what we wanted to hear, but he was passionate and said he wanted to be the best soldier that he could be, and they were the best of the best. We were worried about what he could be asked to do if he was deployed. But the thought of training didnt 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 whod not been trained properly and planning was poor. Things went terribly wrong up there. We shouldnt be talking about failures or deaths within Training Exercises, when theres things in place which can 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 years after Craig Roberts died here in the Brecon Beacons, came more grave concerns about safety. News a soldier has died while training in brecon in mid wales. 26 year old Corporal Josh hoole was preparing to take part in the platoon sergea nts battle course. Three soldiers on sas selection died in similar circumstances in 2013, also training in the Brecon Beacons during hot weather. My phone just started to light up, so we just immediately thought it was the same thing had happened again. It was just a year after the inquest into craigs death that corporaljoshua hoole died on a different Training Exercise near brecon. We felt very, very sad forjoshuas parents. It should not have happened again, yet it has. I dont want to see any more parents going through what weve been through. It was just so avoidable. Joshua hooles father, phillip, 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 wanted to lend support to joshuas family. They travelled from their home near llandudno in north wales to the inquest in birmingham. They wanted to know if promises of improved safety made by the mod had been kept. Radio senior coroner louise hunt 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 Corporal Hooles family. I spent two years of my life working to get the result 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 rather have my son not being classed as a preventable death. Mr hoole said he didnt want to make the army any softer. He simply wanted the mod 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 lasts a lifetime theres one place youll find that. But some now question if we can have confidence in their safety record. There is always going to be risk. Its not no risk. But the army were aware that their quality and standard of training on risk assessments was below standard, and they had to do something about it. So youve got some photos there from your, uh. Lewis 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 in 2019 into the death of corporaljoshua hoole showed that a virtually identical situation arose as had happened in the deaths of the three reservists in 2013. Is there something cultural in the army which allows these mistakes to happen and to repeat themselves . From my knowledge and experience, and im regularly talking to servicemen and women, nobody has ever said to me that theyve ever been told to stop a test because they think its dangerous. Craig roberts and joshua hoole were both on Training Exercises near brecon 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. 25kg 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 that, 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 14 26, craig was charging towards the finish. But he too overheated, collapsed and couldnt be revived. Opportunities to stop the march and to save craigs life had been missed. Edward maher and james dunsby also died from the effects of the heat that day. An army officer later spoke to craigs family. So we said, well, why wasnt the test postponed because of the heat . And he looked at us and said, well, there would have been too much paperwork to postpone it. An inquest found that the army had failed to train its staff properly on just how dangerous the heat could be. And dont expect the lads to be looking after themselves, because you cant self monitor yourself if you go into a heat illness, because you dont know youre going into it. The health and safety executive found the law had been breached on that exercise. But, unlike a private company, it couldnt take the mod to court, because it has immunity from prosecution under health and safety law. Instead, the hse issued its most serious sanction a crown censure. It felt so weak, that the balance of these three boys deaths with this bit of paper it was just so weak. How can they get away with not being punished . Like, a corporation would be taken to court. Like Craig Roberts, joshua hoole was considered one of the fittest in his unit. His was a two hour march, over eight miles, again carrying 25kg. 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. That may be hard to believe, but add up the weight on your back, the lack of wind because of the hedgerows and the steepness of the hill sections, and the risks were beginning to mount. By 8 30, 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 wasnt passed on, and again, signs of heat illness werent recognised. Much like in 2013, there were two chances to intervene 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 warned to put right before. Joshua collapsed a few hundred metres from the end of the march. Despite immediate medical help, he died. Radio senior coroner louise hunt concluded Corporal Hoole had an Underlying Health condition, not previously identified. But she said a combination of factors had led to his death, adding that on balance, had the test not gone ahead, Corporal Hoole would not have died. They promised us lessons would be learned. But when you read the record of inquest, and its in a way like reading craigs record of inquest, and you say, havent they learnt . The robertses are petitioning the Prime Minister to change the law. To have this safety net of immunity from prosecution, id imagine nearly every Single Company within civvy street would love that and it should be removed off them. Weve discovered those failings, those mistakes are costing the mod a lot of money. Pay outs for injuries because of excess heat or cold have cost it £18 million a year. But its about a lot more than money. Over the past two decades, 148 Service Personnel have died, not in battle, but in training. So, how quickly can the heat become a danger, even in these welsh hills . Professor George Havenith is an expert on how on the climate affects the human body. Were monitoring the core temperature inside, and here on the outside, we can monitor the heart rate. He gave evidence at the inquests of those who died in the heat in the Brecon Beacons. We havent made it that hot, just 22 degrees celsius, to simulate whats happening in the field, and to show that it doesnt have to be extremely hot to get problems with heat illness. The volunteer, alex, was an athlete in the University Rowing team. He has 20kg on his back, and has been marching for just an hour uphill. With lamps to replicate the sun, high humidity, and no wind, his core body temperature heads towards 39 degrees. So in the lab, we would probably let him go on for another 20 minutes before we would have to take him out for safety regulations. And in the field, youd say if you would just let him go on, i think within the next 45 minutes, thats when 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 everyone appears to know about it. Mod has to find a way to empower the people on the ground to actually 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 does that feel . Hot, very hot. And how does that compare with the same exercise at a lower temperature . Well, my heads throbbing. Im sweating a lot more. It isjust a lot more difficult. How much longer do you think you could have gone on without the need to slow down or stop . Id say another half hour, maybe 45 mins. And its that determination to carry on that has sadly proved fatal in military training. Over the years, weve seen many accidents, many people suffering from heat illness. Because theyjust have to be tough and just do the job theyre 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 whenjosh hoole died, this wasnt being used properly. The mod promised to train people on it and introduce warning labels. But as of late last year, they hadnt even done that. The mod told us it was still work in progress, and it is working hard to address the failings raised by the coroner. But we can reveal that in the past two decades, the ministry of defence has breached health and safety laws a0 times. Of course there have been no 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. And they suggested that craig wouldnt have told us. And i felt like saying, well maybe you wouldnt tell your parents but our son would certainly tell us. The ministry of defence later apologised for looking at the wrong medical notes. If theyd looked at his records theyd have seen that the date of births didnt tally. The addresses were wrong, so they couldnt have checked 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 craig, james, edward, and josh, sounded all too familiar. We are truly sorry for all the mistakes that the coroner identified today. The mod has acknowledged that aspects of the policy in place could have been better. We will study the coroners conclusion very carefully. We shall act upon the recommendations from this inquest. To find out if they can challenge the mods immunity, today the roberts are getting some advice. Hilary meredith has acted in military cases for over 30 years. Its so frustrating when you see this massive body thatjust doesnt move. It could be a whole number of things but 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 the immunity is taken away from the ministry of defence. And that should be something that really is high on this parliamentary list. So far, weve been hearing about incidents here in the Brecon Beacons concerns about heat and risk assessments. But weve discovered there have been concerns and warnings about a whole other area of military training, where lives have again been put at risk and even lost. This site near chepstow is often taken over by the military to train underwater divers. At 80 metres deep its not without risks. You need good equipment and well trained instructors. Weve uncovered this internal mod report commissioned in 2002 after a spate of diving deaths. It urges the top brass to make substa ntial changes to equipment and training, which werent up to 21st century standards. But less than two years after this report was written, it appears those werent being heeded. Sergeant bill mclellan died in just a few metres of water during an exercise in germany in 200a. He was wearing the same kit that 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 years later, another death. Lieutenant Corporal George partridge died 1a years after the first major warnings another failure to learn lessons by the mod. And still no training for diving officers. The mod said it has conducted a complete review of military diving following george partridges death, and investigations are ongoing. It always seems to be a similar pattern. Its always that people in higher places have identified that there need to be changes, but things dont seem to change, or they dont seem to change quick enough. Lewis 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. He claims there is still no simple guidance about when exercises like this should stop because of the heat. It seems like theyve 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 lives of the young men and women who are doing this test in 2020. The mod told us policy on heat illness is regularly reviewed and has been updated six times since 2015, with more attention now paid to climatic injury. We know that craigs part of special forces have improved their safety, but maybe the rest of the army arent up on it as much. They keep on using this lame excuse of we will learn from our mistakes, and clearly history has proved that theyre not very good at learning. After taking advice from hilary meredith, 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. Theyre meeting plaid cymrus spokesperson on justice. It really seems to be something thats out of its time. It should be changed, and the public as a whole deserve proper answerability, which theyre not receiving at present. I think were in the 21st century, it seems a desperate anomaly that most of your defence are treated differently to other employers or other organisations. Later that day, the issue was raised in the house of commons. Four men have been lost to their families following their deaths during Army Training in the brecon area. The parents of one of these men, Craig Roberts, are in the gallery today. No child should die in training in our uk armed forces. While cognisant of the fact that it must stay as aggressive and war like as we can. Ministerjohnny mercer later committed to meet with the roberts. The fight goes on. Until we can either get the crown immunity off them or there is a change in the law that holds them accountable. A commitment to go further. It cant affect us, but it can affect so many of our Service Personnel. Theyjoined the army to serve the country and should be looked after. When things go wrong they cantjust be let go. Weve got to make sure it doesnt happen again for any other family. Thats what we keep going for and we will keep going until we get it done. The ministry of defence turned down an interview, but it said the safety and well being of personnel remains and well being of personnel remains a top priority. It regularly audits training and all deaths in training i investigated and it treats the sensor process i investigated and it treats the sensor process seriously. In virtually every case, it has taken action before any decision on the crown censure. The roberts and others Hope Parliament will now continue what they started to change the law, to stop history repeating itself. Ive seen so many families go through this, and its traumatising. Were talking about lives of people here. So its really disheartening to see that people dont match the guidance to whats happening in the field. The Armed Forces Say that theyre a very caring family, but sometimes theres not enough care in the right time and the right place. These men all died in training, not in battle. But they will be remembered. Margaret and Kelvin Roberts think of their son craig every day, especially in the places he loved. He said his favourite place in the world was up there. Theyre still waiting to know what craigs Lasting Legacy might be. Craig just wanted to be the best he could be at whatever he put his mind to. And thats how he lived his life. No half measures. There is more problem whether on the way, im afraid, with more wet weather coming into tonight and tomorrow. They will also be some snow and i hope you are making the most of any sunday sunshine you are seeing at the moment. Wet weather has arrived across much of the uk and here is the area of low pressure coming in next, bringing an area of wet and windy weather tomorrow. Lets have a look at the rest of this afternoon though, and some sunshine and if you show it around, but fading. The only area not seeing a huge amount of sunshine is across southern parts of england, where there are a few bursts of rain. A gusty wind there as well, but out of the sunshine in the sunshine it is pleasant. More weather is pushing north, through northern ireland, northern england, southern scotland and the central belt will start off with some sleet and snow in quite low levels in places. It might get quite slushy in places, and the hills will keep the snow for longer, several centimetres building up in some of the higher roots. It may be would quite difficult going up in the morning, so its worth checking the morning, so its worth checking the situation before you go out in the situation before you go out in the morning. That snow continues to feed north across scotland during the day, and gain some significant snow accumulations across higher ground, even from where the snow has been cleared. It may start to drift with strengthening gusty winds. We will see this area of rain drift through the rest of england and wales, thinking southwards at the day goes on. After that, a gusty, blustery day again and a range of temperatures from north to south, clearly the coldest in scotland and some snowfall to end the day as well in scotland. On monday night, i seem places to start tuesday. 0n in scotland. On monday night, i seem places to start tuesday. On tuesday and wednesday, this flow of colder airfrom the and wednesday, this flow of colder air from the north west, and wednesday, this flow of colder airfrom the north west, but and wednesday, this flow of colder air from the north west, but with sunshine. But also some showers, rain, heat hail, sleet and some thunder. Towards the end of the week, low pressure comes back to get some others more prolonged spells of rain once again. This week will be wet at times, with longer spells of wet at times, with longer spells of wet weather early and late in the week, and then it will be showery and colder and often notjust rain, with snow on the way in places, for which the met office does does have some yellow weather warnings in force. Flood warnings, information on the website. This is bbc news im shaun ley. The headlines at 3pm more than 100 people evacuated from china because of coronavirus, are released from isolation in milton keynes. The virus has spread to 21 countries six people have now died in south korea. In italy, where more than 100 cases have been confirmed, this years venice carnival has been cut short. Tyson fury produces the best performance of his boxing career against deontay wilder, to become the new wbc heavyweight world champion. When i came here they said i cant punch. Deontay wilder said himself ive got two pillow fists. But, you know, not bad for an old, fat guy who cant punch, hey . The house of lords defends itself as busy and effective after reports that peers were paid almost a third more last year