Terry Lloyd Tribute

It is not possible to say who fired the fatal shot which killed ITN journalist Terry Lloyd and so the CPS has advised the police there is insufficient evidence for any prosecution over his death in Iraq, Sue Hemming, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's Counter Terrorism Division, announced today.

Ms Hemming said: "There is insufficient evidence at the current time to establish to the criminal standard the identity of the person who fired the bullet that killed Mr Lloyd.

"There is also insufficient evidence in relation to the chain of command to establish if there was any person responsible for the chain of events that led to the death of Mr Lloyd.

"This was an extremely complex and difficult investigation into what happened in a war zone outside Basra in March 2003, just days after coalition forces crossed into Iraq."

The case was referred to the CPS by the Coroner through the Attorney General's Office after an inquest in October 2006 recorded a verdict of unlawful killing. Mr Lloyd was killed whilst driving into a war zone in March 2003.

Mr Lloyd and his team were in two cars heading towards Basra because they heard - wrongly - that an Iraqi armoured brigade had surrended and they wanted to report on this.

Ms Hemming said: "It is clear from the forensic evidence that Mr Lloyd received injuries from both Iraqi and American bullets and the forensic evidence suggests that the injury which caused his death was fired from a US weapon.

"This was a particularly precarious situation and Mr Lloyd was not wearing the helmet or bullet proof vest which had been supplied to him. As the two cars crossed the bridge, Iraqi soldiers drove towards them and opened fire.

"The cars did a u-turn to head back towards the American forces, pursued by the Iraqis. The Americans believed that all the approaching vehicles were hostile and opened fire.

"Mr Lloyd was injured and although lying in the central reservation, was picked up by a Mitsubishi which was helping wounded Iraqi soldiers to leave the scene. Shots were fired at the Mitsubishi which the driver said came from the American position. When the Mitsubishi arrived at the hospital, the driver went to help Mr Lloyd from the back of the car and found he had been fatally injured."

The sequence of events, said Ms Hemming, appeared to be that Mr Lloyd was first injured by a shot from the Iraqis and then was hit by a bullet from shots fired by the Americans at the Mitsubishi. This was borne out by the forensic evidence.

She said: "Having considered all the evidence gathered by UK Authorities and the evidence from the US, together with advice from counsel, we have decided there is insufficient evidence for a prosecution.

"I understand that this will be very upsetting news for the family and friends of Mr Lloyd but I can reassure them that every care was taken in pursuing lines of inquiry and reviewing the evidence."