Minister barred from heroes' homecoming

No reason was given why some of the bereaved families declined the offer of government representation, but the decision came amid mounting anger over Defence Secretary Des Browne's failure to stop the freed hostages from selling their stories.

Lieutenant Joanne Dyer, Private Eleanor Dlugosz, Corporal Kris O'Neill and Kingsman Adam Smith were killed by a roadside bomb near Basra, hours before the 15 sailors and Marines held captive in Tehran flew home.

Their coffins arrived back on Thursday to be met by their families at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.

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Draped in Union Flags, they were lifted one by one out of the vast hold of the Boeing C-17 aircraft by pallbearers.

As a bugle sounded, they were carried past family and friends on the runway. The coffins were then placed in hearses and driven through the nearby town of Wootton Bassett, where locals lined the streets in silence to pay their respects.

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Relatives of servicemen and women killed in Iraq are always asked if they want a Defence Minister to attend when the bodies are flown home.

On this occasion the families were split on the issue so, as is the convention in such situations, a minister was not invited.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: 'The repatriation ceremony is primarily for the families of the deceased. As normal the families were asked whether they would like ministerial representation and as frequently happens a consensus was not reached so a minister did not attend.'

The mother of Pte Dlugosz last week condemned the hostage sailors who sold their stories. Sally Veck said her 19-yearold daughter would never have tried to cash in from any ordeal she suffered in the line of duty.

She said members of the military should be expected to serve their country and 'not expect to make money by selling stories.'

Pte Dlugosz died alongside 24-year-old

Joanna Dyer, who trained with Prince William at Sandhurst, becoming a good friend.

The prince has expressed his deep sadness at her death.

Also killed as the Warrior armoured vehicle was devastated by the bomb were Corporal O'Neill, 27, Kingsman Smith,

19, and a Kuwaiti interpreter.

Film of the aftermath of the blast showed local people, including children, dancing with joy and brandishing grisly trophies from the Warrior. They included a helmet from one of the dead soldiers. A fifth British

serviceman was seriously injured in the in the blast, which left a 3ft-deep crater in the road.

The deaths brought the number of UK service personnel who have died in Iraq to 140.

The Ministry of Defence took unusually stringent measures to prevent media covering yesterday's repatriation ceremony.

Sky News, the BBC and ITN are normally allowed to carry live footage, but yesterday the MoD refused to allow the broadcasters to film the arrival of the coffins. Instead it filmed the

event itself and then handed over the footage.

The MoD also barred reporters from the Press Association, the national news agency which is usually allowed to cover repatriation ceremonies on a pooled basis.