Robert Campbell: 'There's No Victory' After Being Cleared Over Iraqi Teenager's Death

A former British Army major, who has been cleared over the death of an Iraqi teenager 17 years after it happened, has told Forces News it doesn’t feel like a victory.

Robert Campbell was one of three troops accused of forcing Saeed Shabram into a canal in Basra in 2003, where the teenager drowned.

The latest investigation, the eighth inquiry into the 2003 incident, concluded there is "no reliable evidence" that Major (Retired) Campbell or any other British soldier was responsible for Mr Shabram's death.

In his first broadcast interview since being cleared by the Iraq Fatalities Investigations (IFI), Maj Campbell said: "There's no victory here. I didn't win a prize.

"A lot of people, with good intentions, have sent me messages of congratulation - no, there's nothing good about this.

"The whole thing's just incredibly tragic."

Some people who said they were eyewitnesses claimed Maj Campbell and other soldiers pushed Mr Shabram and his friend Munem Auda into a river.

Mr Auda swam to safety but Mr Shabram slipped below the water and did not resurface, prompting the first of eight investigations.

The eighth and final one, 17 years later, has declared Maj Campbell and other British soldiers innocent.

"We just got to a stage where it was just so repetitive that we just thought it would never end," the former Army officer told Forces News.

"Even though it appears that it has now, I've still got a kind of fear in the back of my mind that, in some way, it could get resurrected again in the future.

"It has been very exhausting, it's been pretty horrible and everywhere that I and my two soldiers turned for help, we were turned away.

"No-one would help us within the Army or the MOD. None of the ministers would help us.

"It's been pretty desperate in some stages."

Maj Campbell admits he struggled to deal with the repeated investigations, saying he "tried to block it out".

"It's no secret, and I'm not remotely embarrassed by the fact that I went to a lot of mental health therapy on top of everything in Iraq and Afghanistan later on in my career," he said.

"I haven't lived with it - I've been dragged through it. It's my wife that kept me together."

Maj Campbell stated "the only lifeline" he received was a subcommittee inquiry, chaired by Johnny Mercer in 2016.

"That was the only shard of light in an otherwise black cave of uncertainty," Maj Campbell added.

Responding to the IFI's ruling, Minister for Defence People and Veterans Johnny Mercer said: "My thanks go to Baroness Hallett for compiling this report, which concludes there is not enough reliable evidence of any British soldier contributing to the tragic death of Saeed Shabram.

"I truly hope these findings will bring some closure and reassurance to the family and veterans involved in this process.

"Nobody wants to see service personnel or veterans facing extensive reinvestigations into the same incident, and our Overseas Operations Bill will help provide greater certainty and protections in the future."

The Ministry of Defence has been asked if they wish to respond following Maj Campbell's interview.