A mother has reignited calls for an inquiry into the murder of a Red Cap who died alongside five other military policemen in Iraq.

Pat Long has called on the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to investigate the death of her son Paul who was killed with Chessington’s Sgt Simon Hamilton-Jewell at a police station in Majar al-Kabir, Maysan, southern Iraq, in 2003.

Mrs Long's legal team, from the Birmingham-based Public Interest Lawyers, has written to Defence Secretary Philip Hammond calling for a fresh inquiry.

The Comet called for an investigation after two Iraqi men were cleared by Baghdad's criminal court of murdering the Red Cap in October last year.

Mr Hamilton-Jewell’s older brother Tony gave up his job to campaign for justice and joined the Surrey Comet to hand in a petition to number 10 in 2004 demanding an independent inquiry.

Speaking in 2010 he told the Comet: "The public need to learn the truth because of the fact these mothers and fathers are having their children brought back in boxes."

Mr Hamilton-Jewell, 41, died alongside L/Cpl Benjamin Hyde, Cpl Russell Aston, L/Cpl Tom Keys, 20, and Cpl Simon Miller, 21, of Washington in Tyne and Wear.

At the time, the coroner said having and using better communications would not have saved the troops and found they were unlawfully killed.

But many families of the men and key politicians claim questions remain unanswered and argue that negligence by Army personnel led to their deaths.