Betrayal of a hero
Sgt went Kevin through Williams12 years of hell before being cleared of murder in Iraq. Now he’s jobless and broke ... while the dead man’s family are in line for a big payout
A DECORATED soldier has been left penniless and jobless after being repeatedly hounded by ‘ambulancechasing’ lawyers over the death of an Iraqi man 12 years ago.
Sergeant Kevin Williams shot Hassan Abbas Said because he believed he was going to shoot him after he grabbed his rifle during a violent struggle in Iraq in 2003.
The soldier, then 21, was cleared by two military investigations only to then face a murder charge in a civilian court, where he was once again cleared.
He went on to be praised for his heroism after saving seven lives in Afghanistan – but in a worrying display of how lawyers are profiting under the Human Rights Act, Mr Said’s family could now be awarded compensation.
In a blistering attack on the system which has forced the Ministry of Defence to spend millions in British courts defending the actions of soldiers in combat, Mr Williams said: ‘I feel like I’ve been on trial for 12 years.
‘It is a disgrace that soldiers are having to explain their actions so ambulance-chasing lawyers can abuse farcical rulings and line their pockets on the death of Iraqi civilians.’
Mr Williams, who joined the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment in 1999 aged 16, said he was angry that Mr Said’s family could receive compensation after pursuing their case with controversial lawyers Leigh Day & Co. It is understood they could receive thousands of pounds.
Waiving his right to anonymity, Mr Williams said: ‘I was just doing my job as a soldier fighting for my country and defending a comrade. It is disgusting and completely unfair that [Mr Said’s] family could now receive compensation and I’ve lost two jobs and am struggling to support my family.’
Mr Williams was on patrol during his second tour of Iraq in 2003 when he came across up to nine men pushing a cart full of ammunition. As the soldiers moved to arrest them, he chased one to a nearby village and into his home.
Mr Said refused to leave peacefully and tried to grab Mr Williams’s gun. He was shot dead by the young soldier who said the Iraqi had reached for his colleague’s pistol.
Mr Williams, 32, said: ‘I was only a young boy and I was very scared. I felt both mine and my colleague’s life were in danger. I didn’t think, “I’m going to shoot to kill him”, but I wanted to shoot to stop him.’
He was initially subjected to two internal military investigations in 2003 and 2004, which cleared him of any wrongdoing.
But with the civilian police unhappy with the decision, he was arrested on suspicion of murder by officers from the Metropolitan Police while on leave in Burnley where he lives with his partner Rachel Lord, 29, and his daughter.
After a two-year investigation in which he suffered from depression, his trial collapsed in 2005 when the Crown Prosecution Service eventually accepted there was no realistic prospect of a conviction. The judge said that many people felt Mr Williams had been ‘betrayed’.
In 2009 he deployed to Afghanistan, saving the lives of seven comrades by pulling them from an armoured vehicle submerged in a river. He was later awarded a Joint Chief’s Commendation after trying to save the life of a colleague when their vehicle was hit by an IED.
He left as a teaching sergeant in 2013 and moved back to Iraq to work in private security last year.
But then he was told about an official inquiry by ex-High Court judge Sir George Newman who was investigating the deaths of Mr Said and another Iraqi, Naheem Abdullah, who died as a result of injuries sustained at a road block in May 2003. Mr Williams and seven paratroopers were cleared of murdering Mr Abdullah in 2005.
Mr Williams lost his security job after the inquiry was announced. But on Friday a report by Sir George again attributed no blame to Mr Williams for Mr Said’s death. However, the MoD said it could still be forced to pay compensation to Mr Said’s family.
They are represented by law firm Leigh Day & Co, who were criticised last year along with Phil Shin- er’s Public Interest Lawyers firm after another inquiry demolished their claims that UK soldiers tortured Iraqi detainees in May 2004.
The International Criminal Court then announced it was examining claims of mistreatment by British troops after being handed a dossier by Public Interest Lawyers.
Mr Williams was told that he could face a war crimes trial in The Hague – which usually tries dictators who carry out genocide – over the death of Mr Abdullah.
By this time he had found another security job in Iraq but he lost the post within hours of the ICC investigation being announced. He said: ‘To possibly be investigated again by the ICC, it makes me feel sick.’
Mr Williams said he felt ‘ abandoned’ by the Army, adding: ‘I went to war wanting to protect everyone I work with and you expect the Army to support you. They haven’t. Nobody has.’
An MoD spokesman said: ‘ The Government wishes to express its regret at the death of Mr Abdullah and is prepared to pay appropriate compensation to his family.’
Comment – Page 14
‘I was doing my job as a soldier’