Mother begins High Court fight for inquiry into soldiers killed by mob

Corporal Paul Long, 24, was one of six Red Caps killed when about 400 Iraqis attacked a police station in Majar al-Kabir, Maysan, southern Iraq, in June 2003.

His mother Pat, of Hebburn, South Tyneside, is seeking a judicial review of Defence Secretary Philip Hammond’s refusal to hold a public inquiry, lawyers said.

A spokesman for Birmingham-based Public Interest Lawyers said: “An inquest was held in 2006 but without the remit to provide the family with answers and accountability. The legal claim launched at the Royal Courts of Justice (in London) today seeks a new, independent, and effective inquiry into the deaths.”

Solicitor Phil Shiner added: “The MoD says it has nothing to hide so now is the time for that to be proven.”

A hearing is unlikely to take place until the autumn.

The military policemen killed – Cpl Long, from South Shields, Tyne and Wear; Sergeant Simon Hamilton-Jewell, 41, from Chessington, Surrey; Cpl Russell Aston, 30, from Swadlincote, Derbyshire; Cpl Simon Miller, 21, from Washington, Tyne and Wear; Lance Corporal Benjamin Hyde, 23, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire and L/Cpl Tom Keys, 20, from Bala, North Wales – had been training Iraqi officers when the police station was attacked.

An inquest in March 2006 heard some bodies were riddled with bullets, while others had marks which suggested they had been dragged, tied up or beaten.

A coroner recorded a narrative verdict of unlawful killing. He said the soldiers should have been better equipped, but their deaths could not have been avoided.

“All we have ever asked for is the truth of what happened on that fateful day and for those responsible both directly and indirectly to be held accountable,” said Mrs Long in a statement.