Row can't bring our boys back

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Jan 29, 2004

Byline: By Sara Wallis

Families of the North East Red Caps killed in Iraq have spoken out as accusations flew in the wake of the Hutton Report.

Today BBC governors were holding crisis talks following the resignation of chairman Gavyn Davies over the Hutton inquiry.

Mr Davies quit after the Corporation received damning criticism in Lord Hutton's report and speculation was mounting today that further key BBC staff may follow suit.

In a dramatic statement last night Mr Davies said he took responsibility but questioned the law lord's findings into the death of Dr David Kelly.

That angered former Number 10 media chief Alastair Campbell, who last night said the BBC was "making matters worse for themselves".

John Miller, father of Cpl Simon Miller, who was killed in Southern Iraq last June aged 21, says the recriminations will not bring his son back.

Mr Miller, 52, an accounts manager, of Washington, said: "At the end of the day this is the bigger picture, and not what I am interested in at this moment in time.

"Maybe my son would have still been here, but that is only a possibility. But it still seems that the Government have come out squeaky clean anyway.

"The question of why did we go to war is another issue for us. It is not directly related to Simon.

"At the end of the day Simon was committed to going to war and he believed in it regardless of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

"But whatever happens now can't bring Simon back. When Saddam was captured it didn't mean much to me. I told my wife Marilyn and she said `So what?'

"We just want all this to be over so that we can start to move forward. But this is a life sentence for us really.

"We cry every morning and every night, but you have to get on with your life as well."

Cpl Paul Long's brother Byron, 20, of South Shields, added: "It all started just after Paul's funeral. I don't think we should have gone to war, but that doesn't make any difference now. And Paul wanted to go.

"What is more important to us is the investigations into what happened to Paul and getting our questions answered next week."

The Hutton Report yesterday vindicated PM Tony Blair and his Government.

The peer's inquiry concluded BBC claims that Downing Street "sexed-up" a dossier on Iraqi weapons were "unfounded".

Reporter Andrew Gilligan was wrong to claim Number 10 inserted intelligence knowing it was suspect, he said.

And there was no "underhand" Government strategy to expose Dr Kelly as the source for his Radio 4 Today programme report.

Critically Lord Hutton went further, calling BBC editorial procedures that allowed the report to be broadcast "defective".