9.2 | 23
May 2003 to June 2004
130.
The second
resulted in the deaths of six members of the Royal
Military
131.
In his
statement to Parliament Mr Hoon said he would:
“… caution
against reaching any wider conclusions about the overall
security
situation
in southern Iraq, particularly in the United Kingdom’s Area of
Responsibility.
Coalition
Forces have worked hard to secure Iraq in the aftermath of
decisive
combat
operations. They will not be deflected from their efforts by the
enemies
of
peace.”
132.
A minute
provided to Sir David Manning by Mr Julian Miller, Chief of
the
Assessments
Staff, described what had happened to the members of the RMP
in
Majar al-Kabir:
“On 22
June, house searches by British forces in the town had led to
demonstrations
and shots
being fired. Subsequent discussion with the British military and
local
leaders
resulted in an agreement to postpone the searches for one month,
however
this
agreement was not widely known. As a result an RMP patrol of 24
June was
assumed to
indicate plans for further British house searches. A
spontaneous
demonstration
against the RMP presence followed.”51
133.
General Sir
Peter Wall, former General Officer Commanding 1st (UK)
Armoured
Division,
described the incident to the Inquiry as:
“… they
were making a routine call in accordance with a plan, a planned
patrol.
And it
is fair to say we had some difficulty with communications, of
calling in
reserves,
general situational awareness, all of which has been taken account
of in
inquiries
since the time, but they were subjected to a deliberate attack from
a group
of people
from a nearby town. It then generated a riot in Majar al-Kabir and
we don’t
know the
precise catalyst for it. Some of it may be to do with some tribal
sensitivity
about the
way that we were operating at the time.”52
134.
On 25 June,
Mr Annan called on Mr Blair.53
Part of their
hour-long discussion
covered
Iraq.
135.
Mr Annan
said that Mr Vieira de Mello had established good relations
with
Mr Sawers
and Ambassador Bremer. The UN was “encouraging him [Bremer] to go
as
fast as
possible, or at least set out a political vision, to avoid Iraqi
frustration of an overly
long
Occuption” and Mr Annan said that Ambassador Bremer should
engage more with
the Iraqi
public.
50
Sergeant
Simon Hamilton-Jewell, Corporal Russell Aston, Corporal Paul Long,
Corporal Simon Miller,
Lance
Corporal Benjamin Hyde, Lance Corporal Thomas Keys.
51
Minute
Miller to Manning, 25 June 2003, ‘Iraq: 24 June Attack on British
Troops’.
52
Public
hearing, 14 December 2009, page 57.
53
Letter
Rycroft to McDonald, 25 June 2003, ‘Prime Minister’s Meeting with
UN Secretary General,
25 June’.
227