The mother of a British soldier charged with the murder of a civilian in Iraq today said she was standing by her son.

Trooper Kevin Lee Williams appeared before Bow Street Magistrates' Court in central London yesterday.

The 21-year-old member of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment was charged with the murder of Hassan Said on or before August 3, 2003, in Ad-Dayr, south-east Iraq.

Today his mother, Julie Williams, 47, of Cravendale Avenue in Nelson, Lancashire, insisted he was innocent.

She said: ''Of course he didn't murder him.

''It was a war situation and he was defending himself and his country.

''He was just doing his job.''

Mrs Williams added: ''I am extremely proud of my son but very upset at what has happened.

''He was just doing the job he was sent out there to do.

''He's only a young lad and is completely shell-shocked by it all.

''I am not ashamed of him, I am just more concerned about how he has been treated.''

Hassan Abbad Said, also known as Hassan Abdul Said, is believed to have been shot while being arrested in the British zone of southern Iraq. Little is known about the incident in which he died.

The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith QC, asked detectives from Scotland Yard to investigate the case in May this year.

The Yard's Homicide Command, part of the Specialist Crime Directorate, prepared a file and Williams was arrested yesterday morning on the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service.

During a brief hearing yesterday, he was bailed on condition that he stays at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, which he may not leave expect by permission of an officer.

Williams must report daily to the Royal Military Police post at Catterick Barracks, surrender his passport and undergo an examination carried out by two medical practitioners.

He is due to appear at the Old Bailey at 9.45am on September 28.