Father's fury at MoD death report

Wayne Richards was killed when live rounds were mixed with blanks

The father of a Royal Marine shot dead during a training exercise has claimed he was given a watered-down version of a report into his son's death.

Alan Richards, from Cwmavon near Port Talbot, said the document he was given had key details blacked out.

He wants to know what happened to his 17-year-old son, Wayne, during a commando night exercise.

The Ministry of Defence said it had cut some passages, including those which might prove to be distressing.

Mr Richards, 46, claimed the MoD's censoring has more to do with military chiefs knowing that he will use the report to call for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to re-examine the case.

I have dealt with all the distressing bits - like identifying my son on the mortuary table Alan Richards

No-one has faced criminal charges over Wayne's death in March 2000, when live ammunition had been mixed up with blanks.

The CPS decided there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a criminal prosecution against two members of the training team.

The MoD's Special Investigation Branch has now held its own inquiry into the shooting during a training exercise at Woodbury Common in Devon.

But Mr Richards said the 400-page report he has been given is far short of the report he was expecting.

He said: "I expected the full report. That's what I had been promised.

Court martial

"If they had nothing to hide, they would have disclosed all the information.

"I have dealt with all the distressing bits - like identifying my son on the mortuary table - I need to know the truth of exactly what happened and why Wayne was shot.

"What I need for my peace of mind is all the facts."

Mr Richards, an engineer inspector at the Corus steel plant in Port Talbot, said he was determined to pursue the case.

At a court martial in December, the officer in charge of the night exercise, Captain Gareth Pearson, pleaded guilty to two offences of disobeying standing orders.

He was fined £1,400, deprived of seniority as a captain for two years, and reprimanded.

An MoD spokesman said it was not unusual for reports given to the next of kin to be abbreviated if they dealt with matters such as security, personal information about service personnel or details which might prove distressing.

He said: "If Mr Richards got in touch with the Royal Marines, I'm sure they would tell him what they had given him and why."