No charges over ITN reporter Lloyd's Iraq death
Monday, 28 Jul 2008 13:09
No one will be prosecuted over death of ITN reporter Terry Lloyd in Iraq five years ago, CPS announces
No one will be prosecuted over the death of ITN reporter Terry Lloyd in Iraq five years ago, it was announced today.
Prosecutors said it was impossible to determine who fired the bullet which killed Mr Lloyd in Basra in the days after the US-led invasion.
Mr Lloyd was part of a four-man reporting team that came under fire on March 22nd 2003.
A post-mortem showed bullet wounds from both Iraqi and American gunfire, although it is accepted that a bullet fired by a US soldier killed Mr Lloyd, 50.
But the crown prosecution service (CPS) said on Monday it had advised police there was insufficient evidence to prosecute any individual over Mr Lloyd's death.
As well as the veteran ITN reporter, French cameraman Fred Nerac and interpreter Hussein Osman died in the fire-fight. Belgian cameraman Daniel Demoustier was the incident's sole survivor.
Sue Hemming, head of the CPS' counterterrorism division announced: "There is insufficient evidence at the current time to establish to the criminal standard the identity of the person who fired the bullet that killed Mr Lloyd.
"There is also insufficient evidence in relation to the chain of command to establish if there was any person responsible for the chain of events that led to the death of Mr Lloyd.
"This was an extremely complex and difficult investigation into what happened in a war zone outside Basra in March 2003, just days after coalition forces crossed into Iraq."
An inquest has already recorded Mr Llloyd's death as an unlawful killing.
He died when his team and two cars travelled to Basra to follow up erroneous reports of an Iraqi armoured brigade's surrender.
"It is clear from the forensic evidence that Mr Lloyd received injuries from both Iraqi and American bullets and the forensic evidence suggests that the injury which caused his death was fired from a US weapon," Ms Hemming added.
"This was a particularly precarious situation and Mr Lloyd was not wearing the helmet or bulletproof vest which had been supplied to him. As the two cars crossed the bridge, Iraqi soldiers drove towards them and opened fire.
"The cars did a U-turn to head back towards the American forces, pursued by the Iraqis. The Americans believed that all the approaching vehicles were hostile and opened fire.
"Mr Lloyd was injured and although lying in the central reservation, was picked up by a Mitsubishi which was helping wounded Iraqi soldiers to leave the scene. Shots were fired at the Mitsubishi which the driver said came from the American position. When the Mitsubishi arrived at the hospital, the driver went to help Mr Lloyd from the back of the car and found he had been fatally injured."
Mr Lloyd is understood to have been injured by shots from Iraqi soldiers before being hit by gunfire from Americans targetting the Mitsubishi.
"Having considered all the evidence gathered by UK authorities and the evidence from the US, together with advice from counsel, we have decided there is insufficient evidence for a prosecution," Ms Hemming added.
"I understand that this will be very upsetting news for the family and friends of Mr Lloyd but I can reassure them that every care was taken in pursuing lines of inquiry and reviewing the evidence."