MORE than a dozen Iraqis face prosecution after they were identified as being involved in the deaths of six Royal Military Policemen.

The six Red Caps were killed after they were trapped by a mob in a police station in the town of al-Majar al-Kabar, north of Basra, in June 2003.

A report by Army investigators has been handed to the Iraqi authorities, who have taken over jurisdiction in the case.

The Ministry of Defence has refused to disclose the contents of the report, but The Northern Echo understands that it identified a number of men suspected of being directly involved in the killings, plus others alleged to have been members of the mob - more than a dozen in total.

But difficulties in apprehending the suspects and of persuading witnesses to testify against them in court means they may still never be brought to justice.

The six RMPs, including Lance Corporal Ben Hyde, 23, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire; Corporal Simon Miller, 21, from Washington, Wearside; and Corporal Paul Long, 24, originally from South Shields, were in al-Majar al-Kabar to train the local police force.

The three other RMPs killed were Sergeant Simon Hamilton-Jewel, 41, from Surrey; Corporal Russell Aston, from Derbyshire, and Corporal Thomas Keys, 20, from Wales.

The RMP Special Investigation Branch (SIB) set up an inquiry into the killings, and late last year its report was handed to the Iraq Central Criminal Court, established after the fall of Saddam Hussein to try the most serious cases.

An MoD spokesman declined to confirm that the report identified those believed to be responsible for the killings.

He said: "We're not going into the details of what is actually in the report. That is a matter for the Central Criminal Court and this is a live inquiry."

But he said the MoD was optimistic that the case would be brought to trial.

He said: "Bearing in mind the difficulties in carrying out a criminal investigation in Iraq, given the security situation, we're hopeful that there will be some progress.

"The ideal outcome would be that those concerned would be brought to justice."

He said a British military lawyer had been seconded to the court to help with the preparation of the case, which is one of two involving British soldiers. The other concerns two soldiers killed near Basra in March 2003.

John Hyde, father of Ben, said he had been reassured by the willingness of the Iraqi courts to prosecute people for crimes against coalition forces, but recognised the hurdles to be overcome before the case came to court.

He said: "I think there is a very real possibility that it will come to court some time this year."

But Reg Keys, father of Thomas, said he believed the Army had ducked responsibility for pursuing his son's killers by handing the case to the Iraqi authorities.

Mr Keys is standing as an Independent in the Prime Minister's Sedgefield constituency in the General Election, challenging the Government's decision to go to war.

He said: "We do believe there are suspects, but that doesn't give me a lot of confidence because I don't think it will ever come to trial in Iraq.

"The country is completely destabilised and the British Government has washed its hands of this. If they know who these people are, why don't they send special forces in to get them and then they can hand them over to the courts?"

Fighting for Ben - Page 1