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'Friendly fire' killing unlawful
The death of a UK soldier when a US pilot fired on his convoy in Iraq was unlawful, a coroner has ruled.
The "friendly fire" incident near Basra in March 2003 which killed Lance Corporal Matty Hull, 25, amounted to a a criminal act, Andrew Walker said.
Video footage from the cockpit of the US A-10 "tankbuster" plane was shown to his family during the inquest, but was not shown at the Oxford inquest.
The coroner said the death was "entirely avoidable".
He said: "I believe that the full facts have not yet come to light."
No American witnesses gave evidence at the inquest, despite Mr Walker's requests to them to co-operate more fully with his investigation.
He said the US pilots should have flown lower to confirm identities before opening fire.
Mr Walker, Oxfordshire assistant deputy coroner, added: "The attack on the convoy amounted to an assault.
"It was unlawful because there was no lawful reason for it and in that respect it was criminal."
The Ministry of Defence had refused to let the tape be shown, but changed its mind after the footage was leaked to the Sun newspaper.
The deputy coroner ruled it could be seen by the Hull family, who could then ask questions, but it could not be shown in open court.
The inquest heard from another British soldier, Corporal of Horse Stuart Matthews, who said he believed the incident would not have happened if American troops had as strict rules as the British on opening fire.
L/Cpl Hull, who was from the Household Cavalry, died from multiple injuries inside his blazing Scimitar tank despite efforts by colleagues to save him.
Four other soldiers travelling in the convoy of light armoured vehicles were also injured in the incident on 28 March 2003 near Basra.
L/Cpl Hull's widow Susan had said she wanted the coroner to record a verdict of unlawful killing "only if that's the right verdict".
The Hull family believes key information was blacked out of a US Friendly Fire Investigation Board Report given to the coroner investigating his death.
And Susan Hull directly appealed US President George W Bush to give the coroner the information.
Deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in London, David Johnson, said investigations into such incidents were "extremely thorough".
He added that if anyone had been to blame for the incident, "that culpability would have been pursued".
Story from BBC NEWS:
'Friendly fire' killing unlawful
The death of a UK soldier when a US pilot fired on his convoy in Iraq was unlawful, a coroner has ruled.
The "friendly fire" incident near Basra in March 2003 which killed Lance Corporal Matty Hull, 25, amounted to a a criminal act, Andrew Walker said.
Video footage from the cockpit of the US A-10 "tankbuster" plane was shown to his family during the inquest, but was not shown at the Oxford inquest.
The coroner said the death was "entirely avoidable".
He said: "I believe that the full facts have not yet come to light."
No American witnesses gave evidence at the inquest, despite Mr Walker's requests to them to co-operate more fully with his investigation.
He said the US pilots should have flown lower to confirm identities before opening fire.
Mr Walker, Oxfordshire assistant deputy coroner, added: "The attack on the convoy amounted to an assault.
"It was unlawful because there was no lawful reason for it and in that respect it was criminal."
The Ministry of Defence had refused to let the tape be shown, but changed its mind after the footage was leaked to the Sun newspaper.
The deputy coroner ruled it could be seen by the Hull family, who could then ask questions, but it could not be shown in open court.
The inquest heard from another British soldier, Corporal of Horse Stuart Matthews, who said he believed the incident would not have happened if American troops had as strict rules as the British on opening fire.
L/Cpl Hull, who was from the Household Cavalry, died from multiple injuries inside his blazing Scimitar tank despite efforts by colleagues to save him.
Four other soldiers travelling in the convoy of light armoured vehicles were also injured in the incident on 28 March 2003 near Basra.
L/Cpl Hull's widow Susan had said she wanted the coroner to record a verdict of unlawful killing "only if that's the right verdict".
The Hull family believes key information was blacked out of a US Friendly Fire Investigation Board Report given to the coroner investigating his death.
And Susan Hull directly appealed US President George W Bush to give the coroner the information.
Deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in London, David Johnson, said investigations into such incidents were "extremely thorough".
He added that if anyone had been to blame for the incident, "that culpability would have been pursued".
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