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06/02/2007
Newspaper obtains 'friendly fire' video
A cockpit video at the centre of the row over the death of a British soldier in a 'friendly fire' incident has been obtained by 'The Sun', the newspaper has claimed.
Tuesday's edition of the newspaper contains a transcript from the video, which 'The Sun' claims shows that the American pilots - identified by the call signs POPOV35 and POPOV36 - who fired on the convoy in which Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull was killed discovered that they had opened fire on a British convoy just moments after the attack.
L/Cpl Hull, 25, from Berkshire, died when the US pilot of an A-10 tankbuster jet opened fire on the convoy he was travelling in, near Basra, on March 28, 2003.
The transcript published by The Sun, shows that one of the pilots - POPOV36 - noticed orange markings on the vehicles - identifying them as Coalition forces - and reported it to his command, which said that there were no such forces in the area. The pilot later suggested that they could be orange rockets on top of the vehicles.
When they are informed that the incident may have been "a blue on blue situation" (a friendly fire incident), both pilots were audibly upset.
'The Sun' also said that neither pilot had given grid references to the ground controllers.
An inquest into the death of L/Cpl Hull was adjourned last week after the Ministry of Defence had failed to provide the video for the inquest.
The MoD had said that the video had been classified as secret by the US government and had only been provided to them for their own investigation into the incident.
The MoD also confirmed that L/Cpl Hull's family had been told that some classified material had been withheld, but had not specified what this might be.
A statement released by the MoD said there has never been any "intention to deliberately deceive or mislead".
On Tuesday, it was revealed that the video footage could now be used in the inquest. Clerk Geoff Webb, from the Oxford coroner's office, said that coroner Andrew Walker felt that the video could now be shown when the inquest resumes in March, because it was now in the public domain.
Reports on Tuesday afternoon indicated that the US military would make the cockpit video available to an inquest.
(KMcA/SP)
Tuesday's edition of the newspaper contains a transcript from the video, which 'The Sun' claims shows that the American pilots - identified by the call signs POPOV35 and POPOV36 - who fired on the convoy in which Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull was killed discovered that they had opened fire on a British convoy just moments after the attack.
L/Cpl Hull, 25, from Berkshire, died when the US pilot of an A-10 tankbuster jet opened fire on the convoy he was travelling in, near Basra, on March 28, 2003.
The transcript published by The Sun, shows that one of the pilots - POPOV36 - noticed orange markings on the vehicles - identifying them as Coalition forces - and reported it to his command, which said that there were no such forces in the area. The pilot later suggested that they could be orange rockets on top of the vehicles.
When they are informed that the incident may have been "a blue on blue situation" (a friendly fire incident), both pilots were audibly upset.
'The Sun' also said that neither pilot had given grid references to the ground controllers.
An inquest into the death of L/Cpl Hull was adjourned last week after the Ministry of Defence had failed to provide the video for the inquest.
The MoD had said that the video had been classified as secret by the US government and had only been provided to them for their own investigation into the incident.
The MoD also confirmed that L/Cpl Hull's family had been told that some classified material had been withheld, but had not specified what this might be.
A statement released by the MoD said there has never been any "intention to deliberately deceive or mislead".
On Tuesday, it was revealed that the video footage could now be used in the inquest. Clerk Geoff Webb, from the Oxford coroner's office, said that coroner Andrew Walker felt that the video could now be shown when the inquest resumes in March, because it was now in the public domain.
Reports on Tuesday afternoon indicated that the US military would make the cockpit video available to an inquest.
(KMcA/SP)
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