The family of drowned Army Cadet Kaylee McIntosh is suing the Army for over half a million pounds after the catastrophic training exercise that cost their daughter her life.
But Kaylee’s mother Lesley said: “The money means absolutely nothing to us.
“We are taking this action to try get the Army to sit up and take notice of us.
“We have had countless meetings with them, but it’s like talking to a brick wall.
“They just don’t listen, and what’s much worse they never do anything.
“The self same bunch of incompetents is still there. Only one person, George McCallum who was in charge of Kaylee’s boat has been suspended.
“The rest of them are still in the same roles, or have been promoted and they are still taking other kids like Kaylee to training camps. It’s an absolute disgrace.
Kaylee’s dad Derek said: “We hold everyone involved responsible for killing Kaylee, and not just McCallum.
“And we want to see criminal charges brought against them. Apart from McCallum we want to see Vikki Lorrimer who was specifically responsible for Kaylee’s safety charged with neglect.
“She actually spoke to Kaylee when they were both trapped under the boat, and then didn’t tell anyone she was still there when she got out herself.
“But the charges have to be brought against all the officers and volunteers, because they could or should have met their responsibility to bring our darling daughter home safely to us.”
The couple’s solicitor Jayne Crawford said of the £525,000 damages sought: “The sum sued for is an indication of the terrible anguish the harrowing circumstances of Kaylee’s death have caused her whole family.
“Their suffering continues to this day because they believe that the Army has totally failed to address their concerns by making significant changes to the system.”
The summons, which is being served on the Ministry of Defence, lists the horrific catalogue of blunders that left Kaylee 14 to drown under an overturned inflatable boat.
The Rigid Raiding Craft was overloaded, and operating in winds of gale force 5-8, well beyond its design capacity.
The summons states: “The boat was under the control of Cadet Instructor Major George McCallum. He was not qualified to take charge of the exercise. He did not appreciate that it was necessary to lower the self-bailing devices before setting off. If the boat is operated without the self-bailing devices then it will ship water. There was no training officer appointed for the exercise, as there should have been. There were no safety orders as there should have been. No head count was taken of cadets and instructors boarding the boat as there should have been. There was no risk assessment as there should have been. No one kept a record of who was on the boat and who was not. The deceased was provided with an assault troop life jacket the buoyancy of which would be liable to trap her underneath an upturned object. Such a lifejacket should only be issued to fully laden adult soldiers and not to children such as the deceased.
It adds that when the boat capsized Kaylee was trapped underneath it.
It continues: “Initially it was not appreciated by those in charge that she was missing. No head count took place as cadets were brought ashore by the other two boats. The officers responsible for the exercise did not appreciate that the deceased was missing. A search and rescue operation mounted from Stornoway was called off because the officers erroneously told the coastguard that everyone had been accounted for.”
Kaylee was trapped under the boat from around 10.00am until just after 1.00pm.
“When last seen under the boat she was conscious and able to communicate. When she was found she was unconscious. She was taken by Search and Rescue helicopter to the Gilbert Bain hospital in Stornoway but attempts to revive her en-route and at the hospital were unsuccessful.”
Lesley added: “I still have nightmares about how Kaylee must have suffered trapped under the boat with no way of getting out and abandoned by the very people who should have been looking after her.”
