Mothers of Iraq dead lose fight for war inquiry

The mothers of two British soldiers killed in Iraq lost a last-ditch legal battle on Wednesday to force the government to hold a public inquiry into the legality of the war.

The Lords dismissed the appeal by Rose Gentle and Beverley Clarke which argued that human rights law meant the government should hold an investigation into Britain's decision to join the 2003 Iraq invasion.

The war cost the lives of their sons, Fusilier Gordon Gentle and Trooper David Clarke, both 19.

Their claim was dismissed by the Appeal Court in December 2006, but the mothers took it on to the Law Lords.