THREE and a half years ago Gordon Pritchard was one of the first British troops to cross the border into the scruffy border town of Umm Qasr at the start of the invasion of Iraq.

Yesterday the 31-year-old father of three became the 100th British victim of the conflict, blown up in an ambush on the streets he helped to liberate. The Edinburgh-born corporal, who served in the Scots Dragoon Guards, was leading a convoy of three armoured Land Rovers. His unit was delivering food and water to British troops in the port town when the convoy was hit by a remote-controlled bomb at 8.34 am.

Corporal Pritchard’s wife and their children, who are all under 5, have been living with relatives in the West Country since he was posted to Iraq from their home at an army base at Hohne in Germany. His parents, who live in Edinburgh, were being comforted by friends after being told of the death of the son who always wanted to be a soldier.

They said last night that he had been “the epitome of a modern, professional soldier”. “He was a well-trained, well-motivated soldier serving in a regiment that he was extremely proud of, as did his father and elder brother. He was a loving son, and a very proud family man, and he will be deeply missed by us all.”

The dead soldier’s brother Peter is also serving with the Scots Dragoon Guards, but is not in Iraq.

Corporal Pritchard was the second British soldier to be killed in Iraq in two days. On Monday Lance Corporal Allan Douglas, 22, was shot dead by a sniper outside a police station near al-Amarah in Maysan province, the first British soldier to be killed in two months.

His parents joined other bereaved families in calling for troops to be pulled out. “Allan used to love the Army, but as soon as he went to Iraq that changed,” said Walter Douglas, 54. “He didn’t think it was our war to fight but he knew it was his duty. Tony Blair has got blood on his hands.”

Of the 100 soldiers who have died in Iraq, 77 have been killed in action, while 23 have died of illnesses, vehicle accidents and other non-combat injuries.

Mr Blair was told of Corporal Pritchard’s death soon after arriving at a meeting in London to organise support for the peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan. The Prime Minister grimaced but insisted that there would be no backing away from the Iraqi mission.

“Our response has got to be to redouble our efforts to make sure the people of Afghanistan and Iraq achieve the democracy they want,” he said.

Army investigators will want to discover if the bomb that killed Corporal Pritchard was similar to sophisticated devices that have been smuggled over the border into Iraq from Iran.

Ministers also want to know if the diplomatic dispute with Tehran over its nuclear programme has encouraged Iran to sponsor attacks by insurgents on British forces.

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