US 'must attend friendly-fire inquests'

American soldiers should be forced to attend inquests on British service personnel killed in so-called "friendly- fire" attacks, a senior government minister said yesterday.

Harriet Harman, the Constitutional Affairs minister, said US personnel could not "hide from the court" by declining to give evidence in person to inquests. She called in the deputy US ambassador David Johnson yesterday and called for a change.

Ms Harman intervened after the Oxfordshire coroner, Andrew Walker, complained that US personnel had not attended inquests.

Mr Walker contacted officials at the Department for Constitutional Affairs in the summer after the Pentagon refused requests for US personnel to attend inquests. Instead, they sent written statements, some of which are understood to include censored passages.

Ministers are concerned that the failure of US forces to attend means their evidence cannot be subject to normal questioning, hindering the ability of the coroner to investigate the deaths.

As many as 10 forthcoming inquests are thought to involve "friendly fire" or were witnessed by US troops, but the figure could be higher. After yesterday's meeting, Mr Johnson agreed to report British concerns back to Washington and said that he would meet Ms Harman again in two months for a progress report.

Ms Harman said: "It was a positive, constructive meeting. Our concern is to ensure US personnel come to answer the questions of bereaved relatives. The families want to know how their loved ones were killed. They deserve that right."