Andrew Walker, the Deputy Coroner for Oxfordshire, has been defiantly standing up to the military since lambasting US forces twice in 2003.

He first called for criminal charges to be considered against US servicemen involved in the “friendly fire” killing of the ITN reporter Terry Lloyd and then criticised Washington for refusing to co-operate in the inquest of Lance Corporal Matty Hull, another victim of American weaponry.

In the five years since, Mr Walker’s criticism has often been reserved for the Ministry of Defence. The coroner is responsible for dozens of inquests into the deaths of British servicemen killed in Iraq and Afghanistan because RAF Brize Norton, where many bodies arrive back in the UK, is within his remit.

In his verdicts, Mr Walker has labelled MoD behaviour as “inexcusable”, “a breach of trust”, “penny-pinching” and “unforgiveable”.

Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, became so infuriated with Mr Walker’s damning verdicts that he called unsuccessfully for a ban on coroners using phrases such as "serious failures" or "serious failings" for soldiers killed in active service.

In September 2006 Mr Walker became embroiled in another row with the MoD. He was accidentally given a raft of documents while investigating the deaths of 14 servicemen in an RAF Nimrod. When the ministry demanded the papers back the coroner refused, saying he could not trust that the material would be seen again if it were returned.

Mr Walker was originally drafted in to help clear the backlog of military inquests in Oxfordshire on a temporary basis in June 2006. To the chagrin of the MoD, he is still there.

Inquests heard by Andrew Walker

Steven Roberts, 33 Sergeant Steven Roberts was shot dead in Iraq in 2003 after giving his body armour to a colleague because of equipment shortages. Mr Walker blamed the Army for "serious failings" in ensuring that soldiers had the necessary supplies. "To send soldiers into a combat zone without the appropriate basic equipment is, in my view, unforgivable and inexcusable and represents a breach of trust the soldiers have in those in government,” he said.

Jason Smith, 32 TA Private Jason Smith died of heatstroke in Iraq in August 2003 after falling ill in temperatures of more than 54C. Mr Walker blamed his death on "a serious failure to recognise and take appropriate steps to address the difficulty he had in adjusting to the climate".

James Philippson, 29

Captain James Philippson of 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, died in a gunfight with Taleban troops in 2006 in which British forces were “totally out-gunned”. Mr Walker said: “To send soldiers into a combat zone without basic equipment is unforgivable, inexcusable and a breach of trust between the soldiers and those who govern them.”

Sean Tansey, 26 Lance Corporal Sean Tansey died in August 2006. He was repairing a light tank in Helmand province, Afghanistan, when the supports beneath the vehicle slipped and he was crushed to death. Mr Walker said: "This court has heard evidence of the failure to provide basic equipment for the maintenance of vehicles, which has been described by one witness as amounting to a gross or serious failure."

Lee Hopkins, 35, Sharron Elliott, 34, Ben Nowak, 27, and Jason Hylton, 33 Mr Walker ruled that Warrant Officer Lee Hopkins, Staff Sergeant Sharron Elliott, Corporal Ben Nowak and Marine Jason Hylton were unlawfully killed on a river near Basra. He said that if the Royal Marines' boat had been fitted with an electronic counter measure it was "more likely than not" that the device would not have gone off in November 2006. The coroner concluded that the deaths amounted to "a really serious failure to follow basic procedure".

Matty Hull, 25 Mr Walker described the killing of Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull by a US pilot as "unlawful", not an "honest mistake" but a "criminal act". The Pentagon rejected his verdict. The inquest heard that L/Cpl Hull died because his unit was not supplied with Blue Force Tracker, an electronic device which could automatically have identified them as friendly forces.

Daniel Wright, 25 Mr Walker concluded that “MoD penny-pinching” resulted in Captain Daniel Wright dying a parachute accident at RAF Brize Norton because he was deprived of a £50 radio “Let there be no doubt — this tragedy happened for the want of a simple, inexpensive piece of equipment," he said.

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