Families of dead servicement to sue Government
FAMILIES of 10 British servicemen who were killed when the RAF Hercules they were travelling in was shot down in Iraq are suing the Ministry of Defence over the crash.
In a move that may result in a landmark ruling, relatives of the nine RAF servicemen and one soldier have launched the action, claiming that even though the plane was downed by hostile forces, the Government failed to protect the dead’s human rights by not taking all necessary measures to protect the Hercules.
The C130K was brought down by small arms fire on January 30, 2005, as it flew at around 150 feet between Baghdad and Balad. A fuel tank was ruptured, causing an explosion which then blew the right wing off the plane.
The action follows on from the men’s inquest last year, where coroner David Masters concluded that they had been unlawfully killed. Highlighting the absence of explosive suppressant foam, or ESF, around the plane’s tanks, which expert witnessed argued could have prevented the crash, Mr Masters said: “The failure to fit ESF was, on the facts found, a serious systemic failure and a contributory factor in the loss of the aircraft. There was a loss of opportunity for the survival of the crew by that failure.”
Masters added that he found it “difficult to find logic” in the MoD’s decision not to fit ESF to the Hercules, particularly after it emerged that it had been recommended in a 2002 document. The inquest was also told that Iraqi insurgents had shot at two US Black Hawk helicopters on the day of the Hercules crash, but that information had not been passed on to British aircrews.
Smithfield Partners, which began an action against the MoD following the deaths of a number of servicemen killed when their Nimrod spy plane exploded in Afghanistan following refuelling, has issued similar proceedings on behalf of the Hercules families, accusing the ministry of negligence, breach of a duty of care and failing to comply with article 2 of the European convention on human rights – the respect for life.
Many legal experts believe it is the last claim that could result in a landmark ruling, paving the way for copycat legal actions from families that have lost loved ones in combat. John Cooper, the families’ barrister, said: “The families are of the view that there had been significant failings on behalf of the MoD. Fitting explosion suppression foam to the Hercules could have bought the crew time to save themselves.”
The MoD has already admitted fault. Following the inquest, Air Vice-Marshal Stephen Hillier said: “We were not able to provide the crew with all the up-to-date intelligence and tactical advice concerning potential vulnerabilities. The MoD did not take all available information into account in developing equipment to protect against likely threats. For these shortcomings, I would like to apologise, on behalf of the RAF and the MoD.”