Trooper's mother takes fight to Lords

The mother of a Stafford soldier killed by friendly fire in Iraq was taking her fight for a public inquiry into the war to the House of Lords today.

Beverley Clarke, the mother of 19-year-old Trooper David Jeffrey Clarke was denied a claim in 2006 by the Court of Appeal that the Government was obliged to hold an independent inquiry.

Trooper Clarke, from Littleworth, Stafford, was one of two soldiers who died near Basra in a "friendly fire" incident in 2003. His body was never found.

Master of the Rolls Sir Anthony Clarke, President of the High Court Queen's Bench Division Sir Igor Judge and Lord Justice Dyson said that, while they had "every sympathy" for Ms Clarke and Rose Gentle – mother of a Scottish fusilier also killed in a "friendly fire" incident – the UK was not obliged to set up an independent inquiry into the lawfulness of the invasion.

"Such an inquiry would inevitably involve, not only questions of international law, but also questions of policy, which are essentially matters for the executive and not the courts."

They said that the deaths of Trooper Clarke and Fusilier Gordon Gentle would be investigated through the inquest process.

Fusilier Gentle, also 19, was killed by a roadside bomb in Basra in 2004.

The hearing at the Lords is expected to last three days.