Yorkshire Red Cap's father fears Iraqi killers will evade justice

THE father of a British military policeman from North Yorkshire who was murdered near Basra seven years ago has spoken of his fear that no one will be brought to justice, after five Iraqis were released from custody.

An Iraqi judge ruled they had no case to answer over the murders of the six Royal Military Police officers, including Lance Corporal Ben Hyde, 23, from Northallerton, who were killed in June 2003 after an armed mob of around 400 lay ambush to a police station where they were trapped in the town of Majar al-Kabir. They were killed in retaliation for the deaths of four Iraqis in a skirmish with paratroopers.

Two remaining suspects could face a televised trial later this year. One of the accused, however, still has to be formally identified in court.

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L/Cpl Hyde's father, John Hyde, told the Yorkshire Post yesterday he now feared the murderers would escape justice, although he pledged to continue the fight to trace them.

Mr Hyde is also worried the Government is attempting to "take a step back" from the case, having received a letter from the Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey informing him the case was now being handled by a colonel in the Army rather than the Government.

Mr Hyde, 62, who lives with his wife, Sandra, in Northallerton, said: "The names of the suspects had been known as far back as 2003, and the British authorities helped compile the evidence against them.

"But it seems that the Iraqi authorities are trying to take as long as possible in the hope that this will go away.

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"We will continue to fight all the way, but the big concern is that as time passes, no one will be brought to justice."

Relatives of the dead Red Caps have claimed the investigations have been hampered because several suspects are thought to be related to high powered local men.

In March 2006, Oxfordshire Coroner Nicholas Gardiner said the six should have been better equipped but their deaths could not have been avoided.

The other Red Caps killed were Sgt Simon Hamilton-Jewell, 41, Cpl Russell Aston, 30, Cpl Paul Long, 24, Cpl Simon Miller, 21, and L/Cpl Thomas Keys, 20.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The UK Government is committed to seeing the killers brought to justice."

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