British soldiers found in shallow grave

The bodies of two British soldiers feared executed in Iraq have been discovered in a shallow grave on the outskirts of Basra.

Sapper Luke Allsopp, 24, of north London, and Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth, 36, from Essex, both members of the 33 (EOD) Engineer Regiment, a specialist bomb disposal unit , went missing on 23 March, after an attack near Zubayr.

A row broke out over the men's deaths when Tony Blair claimed they had been executed. Sapper Allsopp's family reacted angrily, saying the Army told them the men died in combat. The fact that the bodies were found in a grave appeared to add credence to Mr Blair's claims.It is unusual for soldiers who die in battle to be buried by the enemy.

Meanwhile, an investigation into the death of the Desert Rats tank commander Sergeant Steven Roberts, who was shot through the chest during a riot in Zubayr three days after the conflict began, has raised suggestions that he was not wearing body armour.

An Army spokesman said: "Sgt Roberts should have been issued with enhanced body armour. We're trying to establish if he had chosen not to use it or whether it was not made available to him."