Portland death: Benjamin McQueen was 'let down' by MoD

Most of the inquest was heard in secret at the Royal Courts of Justice

The family of a Royal Marine who drowned during a training exercise have said he was let down by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Benjamin McQueen, 26, died near Portland Harbour, Dorset, a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice was told.

Mr McQueen's parents, from Southampton, said while the MoD failed their son, they were encouraged by the changes that had since been made.

The MoD said it was reviewing the coroner's findings.

Judge coroner Sir Ernest Ryder said underwater entanglement, insufficient air and inadequate signal training contributed to the death during the diving drill in 2018.

His mum Kathy McQueen told the BBC: "It's really clear looking back that there'd not been a serious incident in this training programme for decades… and they were not prepared... and that's one of the hardest things for us as parents."

"The really tragic thing is it's taken Ben's death to have this level of scrutiny," she added.

Colin and Kathy McQueen felt angry with the MoD during the inquest

Benjamin's parents described him as someone who "faced his fears" and was an "inspiration"

Much of the inquest evidence and some of the judge coroner's findings were kept secret due to security concerns.

Mrs McQueen said this made the process "torturous", and as "equally traumatic in some ways" as losing their son.

She said: "It's felt frustrating… I've felt angry at the MoD who seemed to hold all the strings in all the decision-making.

"It's been really painful, and the confusion around what's secret and what's not… and who can I talk to, and not being able to share talking about Ben openly has been really, really hideous."

In his narrative conclusion, Sir Ernest Ryder said Marine McQueen drowned in an accident during "arduous military training for operations with an elite unit" and "had to contend with becoming entangled underwater".

The secretive process of the inquest was "equally traumatic in some ways" as losing their son, they said

Benjamin McQueen loved being a Royal Marine, joining the force at 17

The judge coroner said: "The lack of requirement for all signals to be acknowledged was a contributory factor in Ben's death because there was a missed opportunity to abort the dive at an early stage when Ben started to get into difficulties and was not ready to proceed with the exercise."

He said "not topping up breathable gas levels" between two dives also contributed to the death.

But he said it was "very clear" that there had been a "far-reaching review of policies, practices and organisational structures which will have very significantly reduced the risk of future fatalities".

Dad Colin McQueen said: "These guys are going to be doing really dangerous things, and they can't be pampered, and they've got to be able to push boundaries, so we understand that.

"So I'm absolutely confident that there has been a root and branch look at this whole thing in diving, so that's really positive."

An MoD spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Marine McQueen.

"The safety of our service personnel is our highest priority and while the coroner's conclusion acknowledges the efforts already made to aspects of military diving training, we will review and respond to the findings in due course."