The father of a Solihull military policeman killed by a mob in Iraq yesterday said he is preparing legal action against the Ministry of Defence.
 Reg Keys, whose son Thomas (pictured) was killed alongside five other Red Caps last June, said the families of the dead men have compiled a case to sue for corporate manslaughter. Mr Keys claimed 20-year-old Thomas, who attended Arden School in Knowle before joining the Army, and his colleagues died after a patrol of British paratroopers had "whipped up" locals. Yesterday he said he had already consulted a solicitor about the possibility of a negligence claim against the MoD. "I have made initial inquiries myself with a solicitor to see whether the Army are negligent in their duty of care and I am waiting for a response," he said. The Red Caps, all serving with 156 Provost Company, were manning a small police station in the town of Al Majar Al Kabir, 120 miles north of Basra, when they were attacked on June 24 last year. Mr Keys claimed it was a patrol by British paratroopers that resulted in the firefight which led to them being killed by a furious mob seeking "retribution". Mr Keys, who now lives in Bala, north Wales, said the paras were warned by local militia to cease their patrol in Al Majar Al Kabir or risk coming under fire. However, he claimed they continued and "whipped up the town into a hotbed of hatred". Mr Keys said a firefight then erupted with a large crowd of young men, but that the paras withdrew without realising the Red Caps were visiting a police station just 150 yards away. He said the MPs, who had gone to the station to discuss its refurbishment, were left to face the fury of the Iraqi mob without adequate equipment or communications. He claimed they had been stripped of grenades and other munitions and had only 20 to 50 rounds of ammunition each. "They (the paras) were approached by the head of militia who advised them not to proceed with their patrol," he said. "He said if they continued they were likely to come under fire. "Their arrogance in proceeding resulted in a severe firefight with up to 100 Iraqis killed. They got themselves out of there. At that point they were only 150 yards away from the (police) station." Mr Keys continued: "They (the paras) should have called to the ops room, but they did not. They whipped up the town into a hotbed of hatred, got themselves out of there and our six lads caught the force of the mob's fury." Mr Keys said he had been told about 40 or 50 armed police at the station fled the mob, fearing they would be shot as collaborators, leaving the Red Caps stranded on their own. He said that around an hour to an hour-and-a-half later the mob stormed the police station and killed the MPs. Mr Keys claimed the families of the six Red Caps had been told the details of the events at a briefing in January with officers from the Army's Special Investigation Branch, which is conducting an investigation into their deaths. An MoD spokeswoman said the department could not comment on details of the deaths. "The Ministry of Defence has not received any notice of legal action and the Special Investigation Branch investigation remains on going," she said. | 
