THE Ministry of Defence is to admit liability for the death of the first British soldier to die in combat in Iraq.

Sergeant Steven Roberts, 33, of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, died from gunshot wounds in a friendly fire incident after handing over his body armour to a colleague. Now, nearly two years after the tank commander’s death, Samantha Roberts, his widow, has been told that the MoD will accept that there were equipment failings. There was not enough body armour to go around.

Admission of liability is a relatively rare occurrence in a war because normally the MoD claims “combat immunity” when soldiers die in battle.

However, Geraldine McCool, a lawyer acting for Mrs Roberts, said: “There were lots of things happening in Iraq that were avoidable, even in a wartime situation.” She said that in this case, the ministry had decided to admit liability and Mrs Roberts would also receive special compensation.

Mrs Roberts, 34, who campaigned for a long time to find the truth behind her husband’s death, said that she hoped that other families would benefit from the MoD’s decision to admit liability. “I feel that the decision in my case will pave the way for other families of Service personnel and soldiers to receive compensation for incidents in Iraq that do not happen in the heat of battle,” she said.

The death of Sergeant Roberts, from Shipley, West Yorkshire, was controversial for several reasons. In addition to the lack of body armour, it emerged that he died after several colleagues had opened fire close by in an attempt to rescue him from an Iraqi, who was attacking Sergeant Roberts with a stone. The Iraqi was killed, but Sergeant Roberts was also hit.

Eleven of his colleagues who were in the area at the time of the incident were interviewed by the Royal Military Police special investigations branch. Most were cleared of involvement in the two deaths, but four soldiers are understood to be facing the possibility of prosecution.

Ms McCool, who also acts for the Royal British Legion, said: “I have received a letter from Jef Mitchell, the MoD’s chief claims officer, that the ministry will accept liability in the case of Sergeant Roberts.”

She added: “They have been gathering evidence for a long time and initially I was told that because of combat immunity there would be no question of any admission of liability. But I kept pressing the MoD and now combat immunity has been waived in this case.”

She said that Mr Mitchell also made clear that Mrs Roberts would receive compensation. After her husband’s death on March 24, 2003, Mrs Roberts was awarded a widow’s pension and a lump-sum gratuity.

The incident occurred in al-Zubayr, south of Basra, within a few days of the start of the military campaign. Mrs Roberts has already received an apology from Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, after she released tapes of her husband talking of his concerns over equipment shortages.

BRITISH TOLL

42 killed in combat (including the ten who died in the Hercules crash last week)

44 dead from traffic accidents and other non-combat incidents

800 injured in combat and other incidents

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