THE father of a young trooper killed in Afghanistan is backing a Devon dad’s campaign to find out the truth about his soldier son’s death.

Ian Sadler, 59, from Exmouth, has been critical of the Ministry of Defence following the death of his 21-year-old son Jack in December 2007, when his vehicle hit a landmine in Helmand.

He has since called a Government apology for his son’s death “hollow” when it arrived in December last year — two years after Jack’s death.

Now Mr Sadler is supporting parents Brian and Joy Reed, whose Sergeant son Christopher, 25, also died in a roadside bombing.

The inquest on TA soldier Christopher, who was with the 6th Battalion The Rifles, based at Wyvern Barracks in Exeter, is due to take place later this year.

However, Mr Sadler is supporting the Reed family, claiming the helicopter called in at the time took longer to respond than was stated in official reports.

“Like my Jack, Christopher was killed in an explosion while on patrol as a member of the TA,”  said Mr Sadler. “I am backing Brian Reed all the way in his attempt to get at the truth.

“I hope to attend the inquest when it is held in Plymouth, where Christopher came from, later this year.

“The MoD said it took 31 minutes to get to Christopher, but radio logs at the time point to it taking 47 minutes.

“Time is of the essence and it is the difference between life and death in situations like this. I wrote to Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth about this discrepancy and the MoD wrote back saying their time in their records was correct. A radio log is like a ship’s log, giving details needed in case of things like this happening.

“Like me, Brian is looking to get to the truth — something I tried to do during the inquest on Jack last year.”

After his son’s death, Mr Sadler questioned the equipment provided to British troops in Afghanistan and claimed the armoured Land Rover which Jack was in was not strong enough to withstand a blast. Speaking in December last year, after he was sent the late letter of condolence, he said: “With a bit of luck my campaign might raise the profile of kit deficiencies and might save some of our soldiers’ lives. It might save some lives as the Ministry of Defence will be pressured into supplying things that the soldiers are short of.”

Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologised for the late letter, saying it was an “unacceptable error.”