Relatives of Red Caps may sue

Families of British military policemen killed in Iraq today threatened to sue the Government for corporate manslaughter over claims that blunders by senior officers led to their deaths.

Six Red Caps were killed by an Iraqi mob at Majar al Kabir in June. Their relatives believe that commanders ignored warnings of trouble and failed to send in a rescue mission.

Tony Hamilton-Jewell, whose brother Simon Hamilton-Jewell died in the attack, called legal action a "last resort" and said: "The Army has locked us out of everything we've a right to know."