Reluctant coroner backs down over US friendly fire video.
US demands not to show a video of British soldier Matty Hull being killed in a friendly fire incident in open court, were reluctantly upheld by a coroner yesterday.The controversial cockpit recording, which America originally denied existed, is of US pilots in A10 tank-buster planes opening fire on Lance Corporal Hull's armoured vehicle convoy in southern Iraq four years ago.
Yesterday, Oxfordshire Assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker said he would take a "pragmatic" approach to showing the footage to ensure the US provided further information for his inquiry.
Addressing a pre-inquest hearing before the full inquest on March 12, he said: "I can say quite categorically that if it were not for the potential delay and distress this would cause the family, I would not be willing to be bound by an agreement with the US as to use of evidence that I consider crucial to this inquest.
"I would be wrong to accept that the US are correct in seeking to bind the hands of the coroners' court in this way, but in these circumstances I feel that in order to make progress and provide the family with closure, it seems to me that I must act in this way as far as that video is concerned."
Mr Walker was told by Ministry of Defence lawyer Leigh-Ann Mulcahy that the American Government had authorised the transcript of the video to be presented in open court.
But the video, which is of poor quality and shows little of what is happening on the ground, can only be shown privately to the coroner and the family.
The coroner repeatedly spoke of his frustration at the slow progress and obstacles put in his path.
"The time has come where I should be entitled to see all the material and form a judgment on what I have seen. I just want to know, and I'm sure the family want to know, why this happened, in as much detail as possible."
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| Publication: | The Birmingham Post (England) |
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| Date: | Feb 17, 2007 |
| Words: | 328 |
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