FAMILIES of British troops killed or injured in Iraq have heralded a landmark ruling to bring compensation claims against the Government amid anger the soldiers? sacrifices had been ignored.
The Supreme Court ? the highest court in the UK ? ruled that damages claims could be launched under legislation covering negligence and human rights.
Lawyers representing relatives said the ruling meant the Ministry of Defence owed a duty of care to properly equip servicemen and women who went to war.
Among the relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq who welcomed the announcement yesterday was John Hyde, a hospital porter who lives with his wife, Sandra, in Northallerton in North Yorkshire.
His son, Lance Corporal Ben Hyde, 23, was killed along with five colleagues in the Red Caps military police by a mob of Iraqis in the town of Majar al-Kabir, near Basra, almost a decade ago in 2003.
An inquest heard L/Cpl Hyde and his fellow soldiers did not have any means of calling for help after leaving base without a satellite phone and had just 300 bullets between them, although the hearing in 2006 ruled the Army could not have prevented the massacre.
But L/Cpl Hyde?s father, 65, told the Yorkshire Post he would be liaising with the relatives of the other murdered Red Caps and would seek legal advice about launching a claim against the Government.
He said: ?The announcement by the Supreme Court certainly helps our case. We were fairly naive to begin with and thought the Government and the Army would come out and admit any issues.
?There is a lot of anger at the money that has been paid out to Iraqis who have suffered alleged abuse at the hands of British forces, but nothing had happened until now about the British soldiers who were killed or injured.
?Any admission of liability will ultimately leave the Army open to claims of compensation, but we hope that there will be some kind of closure for us now.?
Private Phillip Hewett, 21, of Tamworth in Staffordshire, died in July 2005 when his Snatch Land Rover was blown up in Iraq. The heavily criticised vehicle, nicknamed the ?coffin on wheels? by soldiers, has since been replaced for front-line service because of its vulnerability to roadside bombs.
His mother, Sue Smith, 51, said: ?They can no longer treat soldiers as sub-human with no rights. It?s been a long fight but it?s absolutely brilliant. Now serving soldiers have got human rights.?
Anger had simmered about the money paid out to Iraqis over abuse claims, while families of soldiers injured or killed had been unable to seek compensation. The Ministry of Defence confirmed yesterday that ?16.76m has so far been awarded to Iraqis.
But Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said he was concerned about the implications of the Supreme Court ruling and warned it could ?make it more difficult? for troops to carry out operations.
He added: ?We will continue to make this point in future legal proceedings as it can?t be right that troops on operations have to put the European Convention on Human Rights ahead of what is operationally vital to protect our national security.?
The battle for compensation was taken to both the High Court and the Court of Appeal. A High Court judge in London said in June 2011 that relatives could bring negligence claims but not claims under human rights legislation. In October 2012 appeal judges came to the same conclusions.
Relatives had told judges the MoD failed to provide armoured vehicles or equipment which could have saved lives. The MoD said decisions about battlefield equipment were for politicians and military commanders. Both sides asked the Supreme Court to examine legal arguments.
Wendy Hewitt, a deputy director of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, claimed human rights had been ?levelled up? as the Armed Forces had been expected to respect the rights of civilians abroad while not being properly protected themselves.
She added: ?It is now up to the courts to decide how this should apply in practice. This is not about interfering with the way military decisions are made in the field, but how everyone serving in the Armed Forces is given the protections they deserve.?
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