Mothers lose bid to force Iraq war public inquiry
An attempt to force the Government to order a public inquiry into Britain's involvement in the Iraq conflict has been rejected by the Court of Appeal.
The mothers of two British soldiers killed in Iraq had challenged the Government's refusal to hold an independent inquiry.
See more stories from Iraq ...
• 57 people killed in Iraq bomb
But the court dismissed their claim that the Government was under an implied obligation to hold an independent inquiry under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the "right to life".
Three appeal judges, in a combined judgment, said: "We have every sympathy for the applicants. The deaths of their sons must be unbearable.
"However, the deaths will be investigated in detail.
"The only question which will not be investigated is the invasion question, namely whether the Government took reasonable steps to be satisfied that the invasion of Iraq was lawful under the principles of international law."
Prime Minister Tony Blair's government has repeatedly rejected calls for such an inquiry while soldiers face combat in Iraq.
"Such an inquiry would inevitably involve, not only questions of international law, but also questions of policy, which are essentially matters for the executive and not the courts," the Court of Appeal ruled.
The two mothers invovled were Beverley Clarke, whose son David was killed in a "friendly fire" incident near Basra in March 2003, and Rose Gentle, whose son Gordon was killed by a bomb near Basra in June 2004.
Gentle said she was disappointed, but not surprised.
"We could try the House of Lords next, but I don't think very much of British justice," she told reporters.
"It has not been a waste of time - this is my son's life we are talking about," she added.
"I don't think we are the sort of people prepared to sit back. The families will get together and see what can be done next."
Britain's military has reported 126 deaths in Iraq since the invasion in March 2003, according to the Defense Ministry's Web site. Of those, 96 were killed in action.
