US considers Iraq inquest request

An inquest ruled Terry Lloyd was unlawfully killed

A US diplomat has declined to say if Washington would bow to requests for US troops to attend inquests of Britons killed by "friendly fire" in Iraq.

Deputy ambassador David Johnson said the US would take a "hard look" at what was being asked of them, but it would "open up a great deal of questions".

Mr Johnson met minister Harriet Harman on Monday to discuss the issue, after complaints from a senior coroner.

He said the US had provided information from its own probes into the deaths.

'Appropriate conclusions'

Mr Johnson told the BBC: "We genuinely thought that was what was appropriate under the circumstances and would allow the court to come to appropriate conclusions.

"The objective here is to determine what happened on the ground, and we believe that the investigations being undertaken by the US military authorities are in fact likely to be the best way to determine this."

Asked whether there was a possibility that US servicemen would attend inquests in future, he replied: "I think we will take a hard look at what's being asked of us and be as co-operative as possible."

Unlawful killing

Last month Oxfordshire Coroner Andrew Walker, who conducts the majority of inquests, called on the attorney general to extradite the marines involved in the case of ITN reporter Terry Lloyd.

He ruled Mr Lloyd's death, shot by a US marine in Iraq, was an "unlawful killing".

He also criticised the US for failing to name or send witnesses to another inquest in October into the deaths of two RAF men shot down by a US missile after a bombing raid on Baghdad in 2003.

Ms Harman said it was important for relatives to know how their loved ones had died and US soldiers would not face criminal charges or be ordered to pay compensation if they attended.

"It's simply just allowing the relatives to know the truth and therefore it's just not acceptable for them not to turn up," she said.