moughoun
06-01-2004, 11:21 AM
DID ARMY 'DEAL' LEAD TO DEATHS OF RED CAPS?
May 30 2004
MoD probe into riddle of note 'sent to rebels'
By Simon Wright
A MYSTERY document is at the centre of a probe into the deaths of six Red Caps in Iraq.
It apparently promises rebel chiefs that no Coalition forces will enter the town of Majar Al Kabir, where they were killed, to search for weapons without giving a week's notice.
The note - written in Arabic and English and given to the rebel leaders - appears to have been signed by an Army major. But it is claimed it was never passed up the chain of command. Just hours later, the six lightly-armed British military police drove to Majar Al Kabir, 150 miles north of Basra - and were killed after being chased into a police station by a 500-strong mob.
Last night Mike Aston, the father of one of the soldiers - Cpl Russell Aston, 30 - accused the MoD of staging a cover-up. He believes the document is genuine. Civil engineer Mr Aston, 61, said: "This was my son's death warrant. How can it be that one day we promise not to go anywhere near a flashpoint town and the next six of our boys are allowed to stroll in casually as if there was nothing to worry about? I want to know who authorised him to draw up the agreement and why the Ministry of Defence has always maintained that our boys died in unforeseen circumstances. It smacks of a cover-up - and this document proves it."
The deaths, on June 23 last year, are being investigated by an Army Board Of Inquiry which is thought to have been aware of the document for months. The Army are checking whether the document is genuine and whether any deal was made. The families only saw it when the brother of one of the dead soldiers brought it back from Iraq. It had been handed over by a town official.
Mr Aston said: "We took it to a meeting with Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon. We slapped it down in front of him and he went white. He demanded to know where we'd got it from and tried to confiscate it. We told him he could have it as we'd made lots of copies."
The major who signed the agreement is said to have appeared at the Army inquiry on Thursday. Mr Aston said: "I demanded to be there, but was told that was impossible.
"There is no way Russell and the others would have been in that area if they'd been told about this agreement."
The families are now considering suing the Ministry of Defence for corporate manslaughter. An Army spokesman said: "It would be inappropriate to comment."
May 30 2004
MoD probe into riddle of note 'sent to rebels'
By Simon Wright
A MYSTERY document is at the centre of a probe into the deaths of six Red Caps in Iraq.
It apparently promises rebel chiefs that no Coalition forces will enter the town of Majar Al Kabir, where they were killed, to search for weapons without giving a week's notice.
The note - written in Arabic and English and given to the rebel leaders - appears to have been signed by an Army major. But it is claimed it was never passed up the chain of command. Just hours later, the six lightly-armed British military police drove to Majar Al Kabir, 150 miles north of Basra - and were killed after being chased into a police station by a 500-strong mob.
Last night Mike Aston, the father of one of the soldiers - Cpl Russell Aston, 30 - accused the MoD of staging a cover-up. He believes the document is genuine. Civil engineer Mr Aston, 61, said: "This was my son's death warrant. How can it be that one day we promise not to go anywhere near a flashpoint town and the next six of our boys are allowed to stroll in casually as if there was nothing to worry about? I want to know who authorised him to draw up the agreement and why the Ministry of Defence has always maintained that our boys died in unforeseen circumstances. It smacks of a cover-up - and this document proves it."
The deaths, on June 23 last year, are being investigated by an Army Board Of Inquiry which is thought to have been aware of the document for months. The Army are checking whether the document is genuine and whether any deal was made. The families only saw it when the brother of one of the dead soldiers brought it back from Iraq. It had been handed over by a town official.
Mr Aston said: "We took it to a meeting with Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon. We slapped it down in front of him and he went white. He demanded to know where we'd got it from and tried to confiscate it. We told him he could have it as we'd made lots of copies."
The major who signed the agreement is said to have appeared at the Army inquiry on Thursday. Mr Aston said: "I demanded to be there, but was told that was impossible.
"There is no way Russell and the others would have been in that area if they'd been told about this agreement."
The families are now considering suing the Ministry of Defence for corporate manslaughter. An Army spokesman said: "It would be inappropriate to comment."