THE parents of a young military cadet who drowned because of a catalogue of blunders and "systemic" failures during a training exercise yesterday called for criminal charges to be brought against the army personnel they believe were responsible for her death.
In an emotional statement, Derek and Lesley McIntosh claimed that justice demanded those who "irresponsibly" failed in their duty of care should be held to account for the death of their 14-year-old daughter, Kaylee.
"She had her career in the
army all mapped out and was determined to serve her country," Mr and Mrs McIntosh said in a statement issued on their behalf yesterday. "She was badly let down by them. It is tragic that the only way she will now serve the army is if lessons are learned from her death so this never happens again."
Glen Millar, the family's lawyer, told a press conference in Aberdeen that Kaylee's parents would be "astonished" if criminal charges did not follow yesterday's publication of a damning Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report into the tragedy.
And he added: "I think the Crown will certainly be looking at a charge of involuntary culpable homicide set against some of the evidence in this report.
"Ultimately, it's the Crown's decision as to whether there is enough evidence to support criminal charges.
"They (Kaylee's parents] thought they were entrusting Kaylee and her friends to army professionals, but in fact it seems they were sent off with some sort of 21st century Dad's Army and that resulted in the litany of mistakes and errors which led to her tragic death."
Mr Millar earlier read out a detailed statement from Mr and Mrs McIntosh in which they spoke of their reaction to the "harrowing" conclusions of the report into the accident last August, in which Kaylee drowned when an overloaded rigid raiding craft capsized in the storm-lashed seas off South Uist in the Western Isles.
Kaylee, 14, from Fyvie in Aberdeenshire, became trapped inside the upturned hull and was pinned inside by a buoyant inflatable lifejacket which was not approved for use by children.
The buoyancy aid meant to preserve life may have caused her death.
It was 90 minutes before anyone realised that Kaylee was missing and it took another two hours to recover her body.
In their statement, Kaylee's parents said: "Nothing can bring our precious daughter back and nothing can ease our pain at her loss. But justice demands that some of those who behaved so irresponsibly and who failed so completely in their duty of care to Kaylee must face criminal charges in connection with her death."
There is to be a fatal accident inquiry into Kaylee's death at Inverness Sheriff Court in May.
Tony Brown, a principal inspector with the MAIB, said some of the failings uncovered were "far more systemic in terms of the planning, control and authorisation of the activities".
He added: "It is possible the accident could have been prevented even before the cadets embarked on the boat for their journey."
The full article contains 511 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
