War widow gives Hoon ‘one last chance to tell truth’
Speaking after an hour-long meeting with Mr Hoon, Mrs Roberts said that 10 months after her husband died, the Defence Secretary had still failed to accept personal responsibility for his death or to identify who was to blame and called her treatment by the Ministry of Defence "disgraceful".
Sgt Steven Roberts, 33, was shot dead in Zubayr, near Basra, last March after being ordered to give up his enhanced combat body armour because there was not enough to go round.
An MOD report later said he would have survived the shooting if he had been wearing tough ceramic plates in his flak jacket.
Mrs Roberts, 32, from Shipley, near Bradford, West Yorkshire, said she believed Mr Hoon should "consider his position," but was ready to give him "one last chance' to show he was determined to ensure the tragedy of her husband's death was not repeated.
The Defence Secretary has invited her back for a third face-to-face meeting when an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Sgt Roberts' death is completed.
Mrs Roberts, who last week released an audio diary in which her husband spoke of his concerns that vital equipment was not reaching front line troops in Iraq, said the furore surrounding his death made it more difficult for the family to deal with it.
Mrs Roberts, who last met Mr Hoon in October, before details about her husband's flak jacket emerged, said the Defence Secretary had shown "more humility" today, but had failed to give her the answers she wanted.
He refused to accept he had misled both the family and MPs by initially insisting there were no significant problems with the supply of equipment to Iraq, she said.
"There is a lot that he could do to satisfy us he could explain who was responsible for Steve's death and he could also apologise for the fact that Steve didn't have the enhanced combat body armour which would have saved his life," said Mrs Roberts.
"He was very quick to tell us that enhanced body armour is not mandatory, which I find staggering. Perhaps this was an excuse for why Steve didn't have it. I think he should seriously consider his position."
Mrs Roberts said she felt no better about her situation following the meeting, but would return to speak to Mr Hoon again following the completion of the MOD investigation.
Mr Hoon later welcomed the meeting, during which he promised to keep Mrs Roberts fully informed of the investigations into her husband's death.
In a statement, the MOD said: "At their meeting this afternoon, Mr Hoon expressed again his condolences to Mrs Roberts, saying how extremely sorry he was that Sgt Roberts had lost his life during operations in Iraq.
"He also said again that he was sorry that Sgt Roberts did not have a set of enhanced combat body armour."
