Iraqi arrested over murder of Red Caps

8:49am Monday 17th November 2008

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AN Iraqi man has been arrested in connection with the murder of six Red Caps more than five years ago.

Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials last night confirmed that a breakthrough had been made in the investigation into the deaths of the Royal Military Policemen at a police station in Majar al-Kabir, near Basra.

They were trapped in the building by a 400-strong mob of Iraqis in June 2003.

The arrest came after a joint intelligence operation involving British and Iraqi forces.

John Hyde, the father of one of the Red Caps, Lance Corporal Ben Hyde, of Northallerton, North Yorkshire, last night welcomed the development.

He said: “Any progress must be good news.

“We have had positive sounds from the MoD that things are moving.

“We were told someone had been arrested for something else and had given information relating to this case.”

The other Red Caps killed in the incident were Corporal Paul Long, 24, of South Shields, South Tyneside; Corporal Simon Miller, 21, of Washington, Wearside; Sergeant Simon Hamilton- Jewell, 41, of Surrey; Lance Corporal Tom Keys, from North Wales; and Corporal Russell Aston, 30, of Derbyshire.

The men had been training local law enforcement officers in the southern Iraqi town when they were trapped by the mob in the police station for three hours before they were killed.

They had left their base carrying only 50 rounds of ammunition each instead of the standard 150 rounds, and did not have an iridium satellite phone, leaving them unable to call for help.

An inquest held in Oxford in March last year found the men should have been better equipped, but that their deaths could not have been avoided. The coroner recorded a verdict of unlawful killing.

An Army board of inquiry has also been held.

An MoD spokesman said: “We can confirm that an individual has been detained by the Iraqi authorities in relation to this investigation.

“The case falls within the jurisdiction of the Iraqi courts but British authorities will continue to provide assistance as required.”