A GRIEVING mother has questioned why her fallen soldier son was not wearing body armour when he was shot dead by a rogue Afghan police officer.

An Army report into the death of Sapper Richard Walker reveals the soldier was wearing no body armour and his only protective clothing were gloves and eye protectors when he died on Monday, January 7.

Sapper Walker’s mum, Kathryn, said her son stood “no chance” and criticised a decision to allow soldiers to work without body armour as “ridiculous”.

“I don’t understand why they were not wearing more protection, especially considering the number of green-on-blue attacks in the months beforehand," she added.

“Whoever it was that decided it was safe enough for them to walk around without body armour is a disgrace. It was ridiculous.”

She added: “It was so dark, no one knew who was firing and from where. All they had were these tiny torches on their heads.

“The fact is, he stood no chance.”

A report which forms part of the Royal Military Police’s investigations into the 23-year-old’s death describes how the Washington soldier of 28 Engineer Regiment, had been working on the construction of the International Security Assistance Force bases in Helmand Province.

On January 7, Sapper Walker and his colleagues were working on moving a gate when “there was the sound of automatic gun fire” coming from an Afghan police officer.

The soldiers ran in all directions to take cover, but Sapper Walker was seen rolling on to his back, holding his right shoulder with his left hand.

He was airlifted to a field hospital at Camp Bastion where he was certified dead.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said it would be inappropriate to comment on issues surrounding Sapper Walker’s death before to the inquest.