We want justice for our dead son

Mar 29 2009 by Dan Warburton, Sunday Sun

THE parents of a Wearside submariner who died after an explosion 200m below the Arctic ice have spoken in detail for the first time . . . and blamed the tragedy squarely on the Ministry of Defence.

Alan Huntrod and Brenda Gooch say their son was killed by cost-cutting and a negligent system. They are now demanding resignations from the top brass at the MoD.

Their son Anthony Huntrod died 8000 miles away from his home in Town End Farm, Sunderland, after an oxygen device — known as a Scog — ruptured, trapping him and another submariner in a smoke-filled cabin under the polar ice.

The 20-year-old lay bleeding and unconscious on top of a buckled escape hatch, alongside Paul McCann, from Halesowen, West Midlands, as their colleagues tirelessly fought to reach them. But with no specialist equipment and training, the 44-minute rescue attempt was in vain.

At an inquest last week, a coroner ruled that “systemic failures” and a “culture of complacency” by the Ministry of Defence had caused the devastating explosion.

But Sunderland North MP Bill Etherington last night refused to be drawn on whether he would support Alan Huntrod’s demand for heads to roll. He said: “When people have had a bereavement like that they see things in a different light.

“Nothing new has come out of this inquest. But I sympathise with the family.”

Mr Etherington also said that following an apology from the Government, it was important that another tragedy was prevented.

He said: “Before this inquest the Minister involved apologised unreservedly in the Commons and accepted there had been flaws in the way Anthony had been treated.

“The Naval officers obviously had a duty of care and if they have failed in that then (Anthony’s family) should be reimbursed in some degree. There’s no question that there was negligence somewhere along the line. It’s important nothing like this happens again.”

A civil claim by the family against the MoD is expected to be settled soon. Also, the Health and Safety Executive is still believed to be investigating the incident at sea, and the logistical, dockside treatment of Scogs.