Families of dead Iraqis score victory in compensation fight

The families of 13 Iraqi civilians alleged to have been unlawfully killed by British troops in Iraq won the first round in their fight for compensation yesterday when a judge ordered an urgent hearing of their cases.

The families of 13 Iraqi civilians alleged to have been unlawfully killed by British troops in Iraq won the first round in their fight for compensation yesterday when a judge ordered an urgent hearing of their cases.

Mr Justice Collins, sitting in the High Court, ruled that the families had arguable claims which raised matters of important public interest.

The judge also referred to a report published yesterday by Amnesty International detailing 37 killings of Iraqi civilians by British soldiers since the end of the war. Those deaths include two of the cases in the current legal battle. Mr Justice Collins said that these latest allegations raised the prospect of more cases "in the pipeline".

He ruled that, because the situation in Iraq was changing so rapidly the arguments needed to be heard by a senior judge before the end of July.

Rabinder Singh QC, the barrister for the families, read to the court part of the Amnesty International report that criticised the British Army for killing civilians who appeared to pose no threat. He alleged that each of the 13 Iraqi deaths had breached article 2, the right to life, under the European Convention of Human Rights.

The case will now go before two High Court judges who will decide whether British soldiers operating in southern Iraq are subject to the Convention. If the court finds in favour of the families, the judges will go onto decide whether the British government is under a duty to fully investigate all the claims.

Mr Justice Collins said: "We are looking at a situation where British troops are under great pressure. In Basra, they are facing activities against them which put their lives at risk. If investigations have to be carried out it's going to be difficult to know what has to be done and there's a danger that they may be compromised in their duties."

But he said: "Equally, if they are guilty of unlawfully killing, that can give rise to criminal sanctions and it can also give rise to civil claims under the law of tort. They run a real risk of very strong criticism if, at the end of the day, it is shown they have not done what they should have done."

But Mr Justice Collins refused an application by Mr Singh for an interim order against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) requiring the protection of evidence in Basra. The judge said such an order would be impossible to police.

Nevertheless the judge told the MoD that the military had a duty to comply with its obligations to preserve evidence.