Mums launch Iraq court challenge

Feb 15 2007 By James Cartledge, Birmingham Mail

THE mothers of two Midland soldiers killed in Iraq are trying to make legal history by holding the Government accountable for their deaths.

Sue Smith and Beverley Clarke are challenging the principle of combat immunity, which has historically allowed the Ministry of Defence to escape liability for troops killed in battle.

Papers detailing the pioneering test case are due to be lodged at the High Court within weeks and a successful action could prompt scores of other compensation claims.

The MoD said it would contest any court action.

But Mrs Smith, from Tamworth, will claim the Army was negligent because her 21-year-old son, Pte Phillip Hewett, was patrolling in a Snatch Land Rover rather than an armoured Warrior vehicle when he was killed by a roadside bomb in July 2005.

"There was no reason for any of them to have died if they had been in a Warrior instead of a Land Rover," she said. "I cannot bring back Phillip but thousands of other soldiers are out there and it could happen again unless the Army stops using these vehicles. I won't rest until this is sorted out."

Mrs Clarke's son, Trooper David Clarke, aged 19 and from Littleworth near Stafford, died in March, 2003 when his Challenger tank was fired upon by another tank near Basra.

The case also involves a third mother, Rose Gentle, from Scotland. Her son, Gordon, was also killed in Iraq.

The women's Birmingham-based lawyer, Phil Shiner, said they were owed answers about how their sons died.

"We are challenging whether combat immunity allows the MoD to escape liability even in cases where there is obvious negligence," he said.

"A successful case would mean these families would receive compensation, although it would not be an extraordinary amount."