Terry Lloyd

Terence Ellis Lloyd (November 21, 1952 – March 22, 2003) was a British television journalist well-known for his reporting from the Middle East. He was killed by U.S. troops in Iraq, while he was covering the 2003 invasion of Iraq for ITN. An inquest jury in the United Kingdom before Assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker returned a verdict of unlawful killing on 13 October, 2006 following an eight-day hearing.

Early life

He was born and brought up in Derby [cite web | title=Soldier tells inquest of US fire|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5414136.stm| format=HTML| accessdate=2006-10-07] , where he worked for Raymonds News Agency, and later moved to become a regional TV reporter for Central Television. He joined ITN in 1983. He was the brother of the television actor, Kevin Lloyd.

Career

In 1988 he broke the news that Saddam Hussein had used chemical weapons in Halabja, killing 5000 Kurds. In 1999 he became the first journalist to enter Kosovo.

Death

Lloyd died on March 22, 2003 while covering the events taking place in the Iraqi war for ITN. Working as an independent reporter not "embedded" with U.S. or UK forces, Lloyd and his team of two cameramen and an interpreter were caught in crossfire during fighting near the Shatt Al Basra Bridge in Basra, Iraq, [cite web| title=Cameraman's fate remains unsolved| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5408076.stm| format=HTML| accessdate=2006-10-04] between U.S. and Iraqi forces. His body and that of his Lebanese interpreter, Hussein Osman, were recovered and it was later discovered they had both been shot by United States forces on the road to Basra [cite web| title=Lloyd shot dead by US troops, inquest told| url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1889272,00.html| format=HTML| accessdate=2006-10-06| first=Leigh | last=Holmwood] . The French cameraman Frédéric Nérac is still officially classed as missing, presumed dead. The Belgian cameraman Daniel Demoustier survived. Terry Lloyd's funeral was reported on ITN news bulletins by Mark Austin on ITV and Samira Ahmed on Channel 4.

No charges over Terry Lloyd killing, The Independent Tuesday 29 July 2008

:The Crown Prosecution Service has said there will be no prosecution at present over the death of the ITN reporter Terry lloyd in Iraq. The head of the counter-terrorism division Sue Hemming said: "There is insufficient evidence to establish the identity of the person who fired the bullet that killed Mr Lloyd." He came under fire in March 2003 while driving to Basra with his interpreter-driver Hussein Osman, cameraman Fred Nerac, and Daniel Demoustier, the sole survivor. Lloyd was shot by both Iraqi and American forces.

U.S soldier who shot ITN reporter is in the clear, Daily Mail Tuesday July 29 2008

:The U.S soldier whose bullet killed ITN Journalist Terry Lloyd as he covered the opening clashes of the Irag war escaped prosecution yesterday.

:A coroner ruled that the reporter had been unlawfully killed by American troops but the Crown Prosecution Service admitted yesterday it was impossible to say who fired the shot that killed the 50-year-old father-of-two on the outskirts of Basra in March 2003.

:Head of the CPS.s counter-terrorism division Sue Hemming said that after exhaustive inquiry there was "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.

:ITN investigations had uncovered the names of 16 marines - one of whom is likely to have fired the shot that killed the correspondent - but the U.S authorities refused to allow the men to give evidence at the inquest in October 2006.

:Mr Lloyd was in a four-wheel drive vehicle marked 'TV' when the fatal shot was fired. His widow, Lynn branded the death a war crime. If the CPS had decided there was available evidence it could have considered bringing a prosecution under the Geneva Convention.

Investigation

The Royal Military Police (RMP) carried out an investigation into the incident. Major Kay Roberts, an RMP investigator, testified at the inquest on Terry Lloyd that a videotape of the incident, taken by a cameraman attached to the US unit that killed Terry Lloyd, had been edited before it had been passed on to the British investigation. The RMP forensics expert who examined the tape concluded that about 15 minutes had been removed from the start of the recording. Roberts testified at the inquest that she was sent the tape "some months" after the incident [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6037171.stm BBC News: Lloyd video shown for first time] and that the she was told by the US authorities that the footage they handed over was "everything that they had".

The ITN team were driving in two cars both clearly marked as press vehicles. Frédéric Nérac and Hussein Osman were in the car behind Terry Lloyd and Daniel Demoustier. They encountered an Iraqi convoy at the Shatt Al Basra Bridge in Basra, Iraq. Nérac and Osman were taken out of their car and made to get into an Iraqi vehicle. The British investigation into the incident established the convoy was escorting a Baath Party leader to Basra. US forces shot at the Iraqi convoy, killing Osman: Nérac's body has not been recovered, but investigation suggests it is unlikely he could have survived. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6037171.stm Lloyd video shown for first time]

Frédéric Nérac's wife Fabienne Mercier-Nérac testified that she had received a letter from US authorities who denied being at the scene when the ITN News team was attacked.

Demoustier and Lloyd, still in the ITN car, were caught in crossfire between the Iraqi Republican Guard and U.S. forces. Lloyd was hit by an Iraqi bullet, an injury from which he could have recovered. He was put into a civilian minibus that had stopped to pick up casualties. Forensic evidence presented at the inquest shows U.S. forces shot at the minibus after it had turned to leave the area, killing Terry Lloyd outright. Demoustier survived.

Inquest

The inquest on Terry Lloyd's death was held in October 2006 in Oxfordshire, and lasted eight days, recording the verdict on 13 October, 2006. The Assistant Deputy Coroner, Andrew Walker, recorded a verdict of unlawful killing by U.S. forces, and announced he would write to the Director of Public Prosecutions asking for him to investigate the possibility of bringing charges.

Andrew Walker formally cleared ITN of any blame for Terry Lloyd's death, and said that in his view the U.S tanks had been first to open fire on the ITN crew's two vehicles. However, in the same document, he says he "was unable to determine whether the bullets that killed Lloyd in southern Iraq on March 22, 2003, were fired by U.S. ground forces or helicopters." Lloyd "would probably have survived the first bullet wound" but was killed as he was being carried away from the fighting in a civilian minibus. Walker said: "If the vehicle was perceived as a threat, it would have been fired on before it did a U-turn. This would have resulted in damage to the front of the vehicle. I have no doubt it was the fact that the vehicle stopped to pick up survivors that prompted the Americans to fire on that vehicle." [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6046950.stm US forces killed ITN man in Iraq] ] The National Union of Journalists said Terry Lloyd's killing was a war crime [ [http://www.nuj.org.uk/inner.php?docid=1494 IFJ challenges US after unlawful killing verdict] ] .

After the Inquest verdict

On October 25, 2006 Sir Menzies Campbell Leader of the Liberal Democrats and MP for North-East Fife raised the matter at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs).

He asked

“When may we expect the Attorney-General to make an application for the extradition and trial in Britain of those American soldiers against whom there is a "prima facie" case for the unlawful killing in Iraq of the ITN journalist Terry Lloyd?” ( Hansard Column 1512 and also BBC news website [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6083962.stm] ).

On 19 January, 2007, ITN released the names of the 16 American soldiers in the unit involved in Lloyd's death. [ [http://itn.co.uk/news/e432840527374cd2243d0216ebac63ff.html ITN - US troops named in Lloyd death ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,920672,00.html Obituary: Terry Lloyd] (The Guardian)
* [http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/58315 Lloyd's daughter demands inquiry into father's death] - IFEX
* [http://uk.news.yahoo.com/06102006/344/tank-shot-lloyd-itn-team.html Inquiry reveals military cover up]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6046950.stm US forces killed ITN man in Iraq ]
* [http://www.itv.com/news/index_bcb200049a635c99b2462da8213660d5.html ITN - Lloyd footage may have been edited] (itv.com)
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2877767.stm BBC News - Profile: Terry Lloyd] - 23/03/03
* [http://www.fred-nerac.info/ukartdesmout.htm Incident Account by Daniel Demoustier]
* [http://members.lycos.co.uk/desmoutier/ google cache of Incident Account by Daniel Demoustier]
* [http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/article/021006/nuj_speaksa_out_on_eve_of_terry_lloyd_inquest Online Press Gazette - NUJ speaks out on eve of Terry Lloyd inquest] - 2/10/06
* [http://www.nuj.org.uk/ National Union of Journalists]
* [http://www.rsf.org/ Reporters Sans Frontieres] - available in three languages
* [http://www.asiansinmedia.org/jobs/details.php?id=104 AIM Magazine - The Terry Lloyd Memorial Bursary] - 8/10/06