Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, has apologised over the death of Sergeant Steven Roberts, a British soldier shot dead in Iraq, who did not have the right body armour. Michael Evens, Defence Editor, left, reports.

What are the facts of this row?

The main facts are that Sergeant Roberts was not wearing enhanced body armour - a flak jacket with a ceramic breast plate inserted over the heart to protect him from high velocity bullets - when he was in Iraq and involved in a vehicle checkpoint operation with his unit, the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment. An Iraqi fired at him at close-range.

The investigation is still continuing, but it appears Sergeant Roberts had handed over his ceramic plate to a colleague who was felt to be in greater need of it, because there were not enough to go round.

His widow says that he died because of the Ministry of Defence's failure to provide him and other troops with the right kit, and has demanded the resignation of Mr Hoon.

Do you think this is a resigning issue for Mr Hoon?

The Defence Secretary’s argument is that he was told by the military that the British Forces were ready to start the campaign, and he was not in a position to know whether every soldier had everything they needed. But in politics, the buck stops with the boss, and this could well be a resigning issue. It depends whether Mr Hoon feels he should be personally responsible for the sergeant's death. I doubt he does.

Would body armour have saved Sergeant Roberts?

This is still not absolutely clear. If he was shot in the heart area, the ceramic plate would have saved him, but the body armour covers only the chest, so it would have provided no protection if the shot was aimed elsewhere. He would have been wearing a helmet to protect his head.

What body armour does the Army issue?

Those who are to be in the frontline of fighting should be given the enhanced body armour with ceramic plate. Those in less vulnerable locations would normally be given a flak jacket without the plate. The enhanced body armour is probably as good as any in the world.