British paper reveals video of US "friendly fire"

LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) A British newspaper today published transcripts of what it said was a cockpit video recording from a US warplane at the centre of an inquest into ''friendly fire'' in Iraq in which a British soldier was killed.

The Sun, Britain's biggest-selling tabloid newspaper, said the video tape revealed the pilots, realising they had hit a convoy of British armoured vehicles, said ''God dammit'' and ''We're in jail, dude''.

Lance Corporal Matty Hull was killed near the southern Iraqi city of Basra in March 2003 when two US A-10 tankbusters twice fired on the British convoy.

The recording, extracts of which were played on BBC radio and Sky Television, showed how before firing the pilots discuss whether they can see orange panels designed to show allied planes a convoy is friendly on top of the armoured vehicles.

They conclude the orange objects must be rocket launchers and attack the convoy.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement: ''This recording is the property of the United States government and the MoD does not have the right to release it without their permission.'' It also said a copy of the video was used as evidence by a British military board of inquiry (BOI) investigation.

''When the BOI findings were released to the family we did inform them that some classified material had been withheld, but we did not specify its exact nature. There has never been any intention to deliberately deceive or mislead (Lance Corporal) Hull's family.'' An inquest into Hull's death was adjourned last week after the coroner said he had no choice but to delay his verdict until the recording of the incident was produced by the government.

David Johnson, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in London, said Washington was reviewing whether the recording could be declassified.

''If indeed it can be declassified of course it will be,'' he told BBC radio. ''There is a review going on to see if there is material in this clip that might put other forces at risk or which might disclose further classified information.'' REUTERS SY RK1505