ITN reporter was 'unlawfully killed' in Iraq

A verdict of unlawful killing by US troops has been recorded on the death of ITN reporter Terry Lloyd, who was killed in March 2003 in Basra as he covered the British and American invasion of Iraq.

The veteran war reporter died after being hit by a US bullet after having apparently been caught in crossfire between Iraqi and US forces. Of the three colleagues who were travelling with him in the minibus, interpreter Hussein Osman also died, while cameraman Fred Nerac is still recorded as missing. A second cameraman, Daniel Demoustier, survived.

An inquest into Mr Lloyd's death heard from ex-ITN Chief Executive Stewart Purvis, who said that ITN had made numerous requests to the defence secretary about the incident, but had received only 'limited' information, prompting him to send two journalists out to Basra to find out more.

He added: "I came to the conclusion that the British military knew more about what happened at the top level than they were disclosing to us."

The 10-day inquest also saw video footage of the attack, taken by a cameraman in one of the vehicles thought to have fired on Mr Lloyd's team. It is believed that around 15 minutes of footage have been cut from the beginning of the tape. Major Kay Roberts, of the Royal Military Police, stated that American personnel, handing the tape over, described the video evidence as "everything that they had."

No US soldiers appeared during the hearing to provide any evidence.

Summing up, Oxfordshire Assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker cleared ITN of any involvement in Mr Lloyd's death, and praised the reporter and his colleagues for their “professionalism and dedication”.

He added: "I have no doubt that it was an unlawful act to fire on this minibus."

The Coroner said that he would now write to the Director of Public Prosecutions to request that the US perpetrators should face justice.

(CL/SP)