Iraq War: Reg Keys says son Tom died in 'hell hole'

On 24 June 2003, three months after the initial invasion, L/Cpl Thomas Keys, from Llanuwchllyn, near Bala, Gwynedd, was killed near Amara in south-eastern Iraq.

He was just 20.

Tom was the youngest of six British Military Police attacked by a mob of Iraqi civilians in a dispute over British patrols in the area.

Tom's father, Reg Keys, said his son was deployed without the correct equipment or the required amounts of ammunition.

Tom was sent into a "hell hole", Mr Keys said.

He later challenged the then-prime minister, Tony Blair, to become MP for Sedgefield in the 2005 general election.

19 March 2023