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Hello, I'm Susan Hume and this is the Yesterday in Parliament podcast.

On Monday, the 8th of December, MPs were aghast that 30 soldiers had been made ill

during a training exercise in the new Ajax Armoured Vehicles.

A career in the Armoured Cavalry would never appeal to those of us who like a nice, warm

office and a coffee machine nearby.

But even for someone who's always yearned to drive a tank, this sounds a bit beyond the call

of duty.

How shocking it was to hear of the army exercise, which took place on the 22nd November,

that resulted in over 30 casualties among soldiers operating Ajax, with reports of symptoms ranging from sickness

to hearing loss.

The shadow defence secretary, James Cartledge.

The army's new Ajax Armoured vehicle has been beset by problems.

The programme to deliver it is years behind schedule,

it's cost billions, and it's been paused in the past

in order for the manufacturer, general dynamics,

to sort out problems of excessive noise and vibration.

That's why James Cartledge,

who was a defence minister in the previous government,

was feeling so shocked.

On a personal note, I imagine the minister is as furious as I am

at having been repeatedly given what now turn out to be false assurances

...