Michael Evans
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The families of nine servicemen who were killed when their RAF Hercules transport aircraft was shot down in Iraq will have to prove “exceptional circumstances” to be eligible for legal aid.
The decision not to grant automatic legal aid was condemned after it was revealed that relatives of an Australian serviceman, who was also killed in the Hercules, would be receiving help from their government for the inquest, to be held in March.
The British families said they would need legal advice to help to unravel the complexities of the case. A board of inquiry said the aircraft’s fuel tanks had not been fitted with fire-suppressant foam, which might have prevented the inferno which broke out after it came under fire. Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, later said the foam would be fitted to all operational Hercules, but this has not yet happened.
Sarah Chapman, sister of Sergeant Robert O’Connor, one of those who died in the attack in January 2005, said: “The Government let these men down and they’re still letting them down now.”
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