The coroner at the inquest of a British soldier killed in a “friendly-fire” incident in Iraq said yesterday that he had no choice but to delay his verdict until an American recording of the incident is produced by the Government.

Andrew Walker said that the failure of the Ministry of Defence to obtain authorisation to show the recording, thought to be of the moment two US aircraft opened fire on a convoy of British armoured vehicles, had been a “matter of profound regret” that “greatly saddens” him.

The MoD says that the recording is a classified US document, and that they cannot override the classification.

Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull, 25, from Windsor, Berkshire, died in the incident, near Basra, southern Iraq, on March 28, 2003. Four members of his troop, the Household Cavalry Regiment, were injured. Sources say that the tape, which the MoD told Lance Corporal of Horse Hull’s family did not exist, is incriminating and contains the line: “Someone’s going to jail for this.”

Speaking after the adjournment, Susan Hull, the soldier’s widow, said that she was “not surprised but very disappointed”.

Captain Alexander MacEwen, who was leading the troop when it was hit, said the Americans had to be brought to account. He said: “I believe that if they are brought to the inquest or made to give evidence, it will make them think twice about their actions in the future.”

Mrs Hull praised the coroner for his intervention, saying: “I can’t fault his conduct at all. I didn’t see his comments yesterday as an outburst but as him standing up for what is right. My issue isn’t with the MoD entirely — it’s with the US Administration.” She has been accompanied throughout by Captain MacEwen, who suffered burns to his hands, arms and face, multiple shrapnel wounds to his right leg and a blood clot in his knee in the incident.

Yesterday he said that there was still great anger among his colleagues at the Americans’ failure to help the family to find out what happened. He said: “We have heard one side of the story but we haven’t heard the all-important other

side. I think in order for any kind of satisfactory outcome on this matter, it’s imperative that the US is heard.”

He said that he would like to see the pilots brought before the inquest, adding: “At the moment they are in a position where they have some immunity, where they can get away with it. They know they can do these things and thus far in the history of similar incidents, they are never really brought to book.”

The Ministry of Defence said: “This recording is the property of the United States Government, and the MoD does not have the right to release it without their permission.

“The MoD respects the fact that this classified information belongs to the US, in the same way as the US respects our ownership of sensitive information

we provide them with. Nonetheless, we are in discussions with our allies in the US about how we can, jointly, move this situation forward. Everyone understands the concerns of Lance Corporal Hull’s family, and of the coroner.”

Adam Ingram, the Armed Forces Minister, said: “I would like to offer my sympathies to the family of Lance Corporal of Horse Hull for the delay to his inquest. There was never any intention to mislead either the family or the coroner. The video footage is the property of the United States Government. As such we need their permission to release it to the coroner.

“We are working closely with our American colleagues to clarify this issue as quickly as possible. We are still trying to establish how the footage was given to the coroner without first obtaining the necessary authorisation from the US authorities.”

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