The Daily Telegraph

Duke’s comrade ‘not qualified to clear IEDS’

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A COMRADE of the Duke of Sussex who killed himself this year was made to clear IEDS while not fully qualified, his former commander told an inquest, as he called for an inquiry.

Royal Engineer Nathan Hunt, 39, was decorated for his bravery after he successful­ly identified roadside bombs planted by the Taliban and protected the Duke as part of a desert reconnaiss­ance unit in Helmand province, Afghanista­n, in 2008.

But his nerve-racking experience­s on the battlefiel­d caused “nightmares” and struggles with his mental health, an inquest was told.

The Warrant Officer was found hanged at his home in Lincoln on Jan 2.

At an inquest yesterday, Dean Smith, WO2 Hunt’s former commander, said that he was not properly qualified to clear IEDS when he was first deployed to Afghanista­n in 2008.

Mr Smith, 47, also told the coroner’s court at Lincoln Cathedral Centre that his colleague was sent back to the war zone in 2009 despite showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The former search team commander has called for an investigat­ion into the Household Cavalry Regiment, to which WO2 Hunt was attached.

Mr Smith, who left the Army in 2013, told the inquest that engineers such as WO2 Hunt were not sure of their role.

He said: “In 2008, it was not just about battles, blood and bombs. I employed Mr Hunt illegally as an IED clearer, he was not qualified. That command pressure has got blood on their hands until today. The Household Cavalry Regiment should be investigat­ed.”

Lainey Hunt, a Warrant Officer with 32 Engineer Regiment and WO2 Hunt’s former wife, said commanders should have known that he was not fully qualified to clear IEDS.

In an emotional statement, which she read at the inquest, Mrs Hunt said: “The chain of command at the Household Cavalry should have known he was not fully qualified for this job.”

Army records showed WO2 Hunt had suffered with dark moods earlier in his career but Mrs Hunt told the inquest she saw a change in her husband’s mental condition after he witnessed a vehicle being blown up during his first Afghanista­n tour.

“From 2008 to the day he died, Nathan suffered,” Mrs Hunt told the inquest. “He suffered from nightmares and sleeplessn­ess, and I would see him crying. I do believe Nathan wanted to end the nightmares and decided to end his life that night.”

The inquest heard WO2 Hunt suffered depression and mood swings that caused his marriage to end in divorce in 2014. But the couple were still friends and he remained a loving father to Megan, their nine-year-old daughter, and had spent Christmas last year with his family.

WO2 Hunt returned to his home in the city after visiting his parents on New Year’s Eve. They raised the alarm after he failed to attend their home as arranged on New Year’s Day and reported that he was “very down” when they had last seen him.

WO2 Hunt was found dead in his home shortly before 10am on Jan 2.

Coroner Paul Smith recorded a narrative verdict.

 ??  ?? WO2 Nathan Hunt, who served in Afghanista­n alongside Prince Harry, was found dead on Jan 2
WO2 Nathan Hunt, who served in Afghanista­n alongside Prince Harry, was found dead on Jan 2

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