Captain Daniel Wright

Tragic errors
The fears that there would be a cover-up of the circumstances in which Captain Daniel Wright died were unfounded – but bitterness remains.

I remember him as a young boy in Clytha School in the same class as my stepson. He was then known as Daniel Miles Wright and he was a popular hard working pupil. He died in Oxfordshire,on his first day of parachute training after his canopy did not open.

I saw copies of e-mails saying that issuing radio to parachutists was "long overdue". In 2006 I asked parliamentary questions about the possible failure of safety measures that could have led to this tragic accident. In these days off openness, it would have been foolish and futile to attempts to hide the truth.

The inquest had earlier heard that "on the balance of probabilities", a radio would have saved Capt Wright's life. It would have allowed instructors to tell Capt Wright, a member of the Queen's Gurkha Signal Corps, to cut away his parachute, the inquest had been told.

There was ample evidence two years ago that additional safety precautions might have saved Daniel’s life. I was asked to make inquiries and to put pressure on MOD that would avoid any attempt to suppress evidence. This I did. However the answers I received from the Ministry of Defence were not encouraging.

Relatives were worried that the emergency treatment was inadequate. The answer from Minister Derek Twigg said,   “A Trauma Management Vehicle and two medical assistants provided by RAF Brize Norton medical centre were present. The level of provision has increased from one to two medical assistants in the past 12 months.” MOD did not answer my questions on the provision of automatic activation devices and audio altimeters for military trainee parachutists.

The coroner heard all the evidence including those in anonymous e-mails. Sensibly the Ministry of Defence appeared to play fairly. The need for the missing safety precautions has by accepted by the MOD. The chance of a similar accident in future is very remote.

Inevitably there are accusations that shortage of money delayed the introduction of safety measures. This is extremely unlikely, as the Defence budget has risen by record sums.

But the family of Captain Wright will inevitably always be troubled with ‘what if?’ thoughts.

Super Gwent NHS

As a result of a totally unexpected emergency I visited the Accident and Emergency Clinic at the Royal Gwent today.

I have some grim memories of past visits to overcrowded units. Today there is new triage unit which was empty at 1.00 pm. A doctor was immediately available. He was thorough and offered helpful advice. An x-ray was taken in a nearby new radiography unit and was available to the doctor and patient within ten minutes.

No serious problem was found. The whole visit was over is less than 45 minutes. The service was courteous and reassuring.

Well-done Royal Gwent from two satisfied NHS fans.

Small and clever
No luck with a ticket for the Grand Slam match today, but the victory viewed from my armchair was wonderfully satisfying.

Rhodri Morgan promotes the image of Wales as a ‘small but clever nation.’  Pictures of today’s triumph and the ecstatic crowds were seen across the rugby-playing world.

The benefits for Wales are immeasurable. The previous Grand Slam was secured with some slices of luck that was firmly with us then. This time, the superb solid talents of our players demoralised all our opponents and our victories had a rare inevitability. 

Dare we hope for another miracle of taking the FA cup from England for only the second time ever? Why not?

Anything is possible.