'Executed' soldiers are flown back to Britain

Two soldiers feared to have been executed in Iraq were flown back to Britain yesterday while the funerals were held of a tank commander and a journalist killed in the conflict.

Sapper Luke Allsopp, 24, of north London, and Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth, 36, from Essex, arrived at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

The servicemen went missing on 23 March, when their Land Rover was probably ambushed. Their bodies were found in a shallow grave near Zubayr outside Basra in southern Iraq. Whether they were executed is still not clear.

The funeral of Sergeant Steven Roberts was held at Egloshayle Parish Church near his home town of Wadebridge, Cornwall. Sgt Roberts, 33, a Desert Rats tank commander, was shot during a riot near Basra.

The funeral of the ITV reporter Terry Lloyd took place at St Nicholas Church in Cuddington, Buckinghamshire. Among the mourners was his cameraman Daniel Demoustier, who was injured when Mr Lloyd, 51, was shot dead.