Henry Smith MP today raised on the floor of the House of Commons the case of a local Crawley resident, former Army Major Jonny Bristow, who was wrongly blamed by the Ministry of Defence in 2007 for the death of an Army Captain during combat in Afghanistan. 

Commenting after he raised the case in Parliament, Henry said:

“Local resident, Army Major Jonny Bristow, was wrongly accused in 2007 by the Ministry of Defence for the death of Captain James Philippson in Afghanistan in 2006.

“Major Bristow was later exonerated by a coroner's inquest which blamed the incident which occurred in 2006 on a lack of proper equipment, a key concern amongst army service personnel at the time.  The coroner identified that a lack of essential kit, such as night-vision goggles and machine guns, was to blame for Captain Philippson’s death.

“With Remembrance Day coming soon, it’s important not only to remember the sacrifice that our countrymen and women made for the freedoms that we now enjoy through the World Wars but that we also reflect on the conditions and expectations that our service personnel operate under today. 

“I simply cannot understand why our brave service personnel were sent into conflict at their nation’s call without proper equipment and sufficient support for military top brass.

“I’m pleased that government has now provided the essential equipment that service personnel require to operate in relative safety in Afghanistan but I believe that there are fundamental questions that still need to be answered as to why our troops were not adequately protected when they were first deployed in both Afghanistan and Iraq.  

“Today I raised my concerns in Parliament concerning the very disturbing case of Major Bristow and urged the need for a thorough explanation on his case and the Ministry of Defence justice system that existed at the time.”