Army officer reported to police over ‘changes to statements’

● Inquest hears of soldier’s fears over approach from officer running fatal test

A soldier reported an officer to military police after claiming he was asked to help “change” statements about an army test march in which a colleague died, an inquest has heard.

Corporal Joshua Hoole, of 1 Rifles and described as “fit, capable and determined”, died within an hour of collapsing on a hot day during an annual fitness test at Brecon, Wales, on 19 July 2016.

Cpl Hoole, of Ecclefechan, Dumfries and Galloway, died three years after three army reservists suffered fatal heat illness during an SAS selection march in the Brecon Beacons.

An inquest into Cpl Hoole’s death heard yesterday from another soldier, Corporal George Knight, who collapsed with a suspected “heat injury” earlier on the same march.

At Birmingham Coroner’s Court, Cpl Knight told how about an hour into the fitness test he was “struggling to focus and felt sick”, before collapsing.

He said: “I remember falling into the hedge and literally, immediately, one of the corporals jumped on me straight away, opened my shirt and started pouring water on me, cooling me down.”

Cpl Knight recalled being in the hedge for up to 20 minutes and was so “confused” he was unable to recognise a close colleague, or say what day it was.

The soldier was then asked about what the senior coroner Louise Hunt called “a difficult matter”, relating to the incident, involving the officer running the march, Captain Colin Newfer.

The inquest heard that in July 2018, Cpl Knight claimed he had been on a classroom course with Capt Newfer when the officer called him into his office for “a conversation” about some soldiers’ statements.

Thatcontact,andlaterwhatsapp messages which the corporal also claimed Capt Newfer sent, prompted Cpl Knight to report the matter to the Royal Military Police, he told the coroner.

Cpl Knight said: “I thought, I shouldn’t be having these people’s statements.”

The corporal alleged the officer handed him seven pages of different soldiers’ statements, relating to how he had come to withdraw from the test march. Asked what Capt Newfer said to him in his office, Cpl Knight told the inquest: “He told me to find out who was writing them – whose statements they were.”

Barrister Fiona Eadington, representing Capt Newfer, asked if Cpl Knight recalled the officer had merely mentioned to him that he was “making a service complaint and that your statement wasn’t accurate”, when they were in the office. Cpl Knight replied: “I don’t remember that.”