A talented British cameraman who died while filming in the Gaza Strip was murdered by an Israeli soldier, an inquest ruled today.

James Miller, 34, from Braunton, Devon, was killed by a member of the Israeli Defence Forces three years ago while making a film about Palestinian children in the Rafah refugee camp.

According to witnesses at the inquest, Mr Miller was easily identifiable as a journalist and shining a torch onto a white flag when he approached Israeli soldiers at around 11pm on the night of May 2, 2003. He was shot in the neck at close range and died.

Last year, the Israeli army cleared an officer, identified only as Lieutenant H, of any wrongdoing in Mr Miller’s death, drawing an official protest from the British Government.

But at today's inquest into the killing at St Pancras Coroner’s Court in London, Coroner Dr Andrew Reid told the jury the only possible verdict they could return was that of unlawful killing.

He told them they had to decide in the context of the case whether he had been murdered or was a victim of manslaughter. After around an hour of deliberation, the 10-strong jury decided that Mr Miller, an award-winning film-maker, had been deliberately shot.

To sobs from members of Mr Miller’s family, the jury spokeswoman told the court: "We, the jury, unanimously agree this was an unlawful shooting with the intention of killing Mr James Miller. Therefore we can come to no other conclusion than that Mr Miller was indeed murdered."

She added: "It is a fact that from day one of this inquest the Israeli authorities have not been forthcoming in the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr Miller’s death."

Dr Reid said he would write to the Attorney General to seek to prevent similar deaths occurring.

In a statement, the Israeli Embassy in London said it regretted Mr Miller’s death but said there no grounds for a criminal inquiry. "After a very thorough investigation using laboratories in Israel and abroad and after reviewing all the available evidence, it was not possible to reach a reliable conclusion that could provide a basis for proceedings under criminal law," the Embassy said.

Mr Miller's family said their efforts to investigate Miller’s death had "finally been vindicated" by today's verdict, after a three-year struggle. The family, critical of official attempts to investigate the shooting, hired a Home Office pathologist and an independent military expert to gather evidence.

Death in Gaza, a film of Mr Miller's death completed by his colleagues, won three Emmy awards in 2005. Beneath the Veil, a documentary about life under the Taleban in Afghanistan, which Mr Miller made with fellow journalist, Shaira Shah, won an Emmy in 2001.

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