Tri-Service

Court Of Appeal Rejects Bid For Fresh Iraq Deaths Inquiry

A legal battle for a new public inquiry into the deaths of six Royal Military policemen in Iraq has been rejected by the Court of Appeal.

The six were killed when a police station at Majar al-Kabir was attacked by an armed mob in 2003.

Lawyers for the mother of Corporal Paul Long, who was one of those to lose their lives, argued that all the formal inquiries so far, including an inquest, had failed to get to the bottom of how mistakes that led to the deaths were made - and who was responsible for them.

They said the group were sent to the police station without the correct equipment, including an iridium satellite phone, which might have enabled them to call for help..

This was despite a clear order issued a month before by the commander of the battle group occupying Maysan province, that all patrols should have the equipment.

But the Court of Appeal judges ruled that Mrs Long "cannot require" the Defence Secretary to hold another inquiry.

Padraig Hughes, from Public Interest Lawyers, said after the ruling:

"It is important that those in command who fail to ensure that safe practices set out in army orders are carried into effect are held to account.

"Over 12 years after her son's death Pat Long still does not know the full truth as to why he and five other RMP soldiers did not have a satellite phone where there was an order requiring RMP patrols to be equipped with one."

Giving the background, Lord Dyson said it was not in dispute that if the soldiers of C section, in which Cpl Long served, had been equipped with an iridium satellite phone on June 24 2003 "their lives might have been saved".

He said: "Having seen Mrs Long throughout this two-day appeal, I am only too aware of the anguish that she continues to suffer over the death of her son on that fateful day in June 2003.

"It is entirely understandable that she wishes to leave no stone unturned in her quest to discover precisely how the RMP soldiers were not provided with iridium phones when they should have been."

But he said he was satisfied that "as a matter of law she is not entitled to any further investigation into this tragic affair".