He said the indecision had “prevented progress in response to what was clearly, by the second half of 2005, a clear and growing threat from improvised explosive devices that required action.”  The families of three soldiers killed in the vehicles won a landmark human rights legal ruling in 2013 allowing them to sue the MoD for failing to properly equip the men.  The case over the deaths of Pte Phillip Hewett, 21, of Tamworth, Staffordshire; Pte Lee Ellis, 23, of Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester; and L/Cpl Kirk Redpath, 22, of Romford, east London is ongoing.  Lucy Cadd, representing the families, said: “The vehicles were thought to be inadequate for many years before the Iraq conflict, they were known to be unsafe and were becoming increasingly so as the insurgency grew and were even nicknamed ‘mobile coffins’.”  The MoD and Army are so worried about fallout from Sir John’s long-awaited report that they have set up a small teams of staff officers and senior civil servants to “co-ordinate the Army response” a senior officer told The Telegraph.  Senior officers have yet to see the findings, and are trying to prepare while “flying blind” said one. While many of the key Chilcot Army witnesses have since retired, several other senior serving officers have already sought advice from the MoD or Army Legal Services on what to do if they are criticised. Public criticism could damage promotion prospects, or even lead to legal action against them, they fear.  Tim Ripley, author of Operation Telic, a recent history of Britain’s Iraq campaign, said: “It is deeply ingrained in the Whitehall Establishment that any criticism - no matter how justified - has to be rebutted.  “Criticism is often seen not as something that helps improve how they do business but as a blemish on the reputation of everyone who works in the organisation. Covering up is a reflex action that make prevents the MoD owning up to its mistakes.”  An MoD spokesman said: "We will not comment on speculation about what may be in the Chilcot Report.”
Defence chiefs were too slow to adopt new lifesaving armoured vehicles for troops facing deadly roadside bombs, Sir John Chilcot’s Iraq Inquiry will find.