Inquests are to be held into the deaths of six Royal Military Policeman killed by a mob in southern Iraq after becoming trapped in a police station.

The six Red Caps died on June 24, 2003, in the town of Al Majar Al Kabir, near Basra.

Among the dead was Lance-Corporal Thomas Richard Keys, 20, whose father Reg has become a prominent anti-war campaigner who stood against Tony Blair in his Sedgefield constituency during the General Election and won 4,252 votes.

A Ministry of Defence Board of Inquiry found that no individual or organisation could be blamed for the murders, and claimed that the killings "could not have been reasonably prevented".

But the relatives of the dead men have claimed there was a "cover-up" to protect the Army, and that the men were poorly equipped and given the wrong information about the area that they were about to patrol.

The six who died were: Sgt Simon Hamilton-Jewell, aged 41, from Chessington, Surrey; Corporal Russell Aston, 30, from Swadlincote, Derbyshire; Corporal Paul Graham Long, 24, from Colchester, Essex; Corporal Simon Miller, 21, from Washington, Tyne & Wear; Lance-Corporal Benjamin John McGowan Hyde, 23, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire; and Lance-Corporal Thomas Richard Keys, 20, from Bala, Wales.

Inquests for all six will begin at Oxford's Old Assizes in New Road, Oxford.

The inquests are scheduled to last between two and six weeks.

I would like to know why they only had 10 rounds each,no flak jackets and wrong radios frequencys??


Steve

Harrowing details of the deaths of six Royal Military policemen during an attack by a mob in Iraq have been heard at an inquest.

The inquest was told Corporal Russell Aston was shot 13 times during the attack in the southern town of Al Majar Al Kabir, near Basra, in 2003.

Oxford Coroners Court heard the bullets could have been fired from a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

The 30-year-old was hit in his forehead, cheek, neck, chest, back and arms.

Sergeant Simon Hamilton-Jewell, 41, was hit by at least 14 bullets, possibly as he lay on his side.

Members of the Red Caps' families walked out of the hearing in tears as forensic pathologist Dr Nathaniel Carey read out details of their injuries.

Relatives have accused Army chiefs of showing a "cavalier" attitude towards their safety and claimed there was a cover-up following the deaths.

However, a Ministry of Defence Board of Inquiry found no-one could be blamed for the murders, and claimed they "could not have been reasonably prevented".