Hero soldier awarded posthumous VC was 'probably killed by friendly fire' during shootout with Taliban


Last updated at 23:44 29 November 2007

A soldier who was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross may have been killed by friendly fire during a Taliban ambush, an inquest heard yesterday.

Corporal Bryan Budd's body was found in a field in Afghanistan surrounded by three dead enemy fighters.

But forensic evidence suggests he was killed by a Nato bullet.

Fellow Paratroopers told the inquest how the soldier moved in for the kill as soon as he spotted the Taliban gunmen, seemingly oblivious to the danger.

Corporal Budd was leading colleagues from the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment in an "attack formation" when they were cut down at close range by rapid fire, the inquest was told.

The 29-year-old died saving seven comrades in a firefight during the "clearance operation" in Helmand province.

Corporal Guy Roberts recalled the final moments of the soldier's life.

The group was in a field when Corporal Budd, who was leading the way, spotted the enemy, he told Oxfordshire assistant deputy coroner Andrew Walker.

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Bryan Budd

They waited silently for a few moments, began to retrace their steps and there was then a burst of fire.

"There was a whole stream of rapid shots very close to me from the right and I heard shouting, possibly shouting a warning," said Corporal Roberts. It was at this point that he lost sight of Corporal Budd.

"I dropped down on to one knee and I engaged the enemy with my rifle. My rifle was at that time set to automatic and I fired two to three short rounds."

Moments later Corporal Roberts was shot in the shoulder as he tried to launch a grenade and was dragged to safety by three others.

Two of them, Privates Craig Sharpe and Stephen Halton, were also wounded and praised by the coroner for their bravery.

Lieutenant Hugo Farmer told the hearing that the battalion had come under regular attack for nine weeks while based at Sangin.

That day, August 20, 2006, they had set out to forge a new route out of their military compound, when Corporal Budd's section was ambushed by Taliban forces.

Lieutenant Farmer arrived with his troops to find three soldiers had been hurt.

"It was unusual for us to take so many casualties in such a short space of time," he said. "From this evidence I thought that obviously something very serious had happened."

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Lorena Budd

He was told Corporal Budd had "gone forward" and not been seen since.

He said the enemy were "all over the area" and attempts to contact the missing soldier by radio failed.

"Eventually more troops and air support arrived to cover members of the battalion as they surged forward. Our hands were tied, we had to go in and get him."

Lieutenant Farmer said he saw one of his colleagues carry Corporal Budd out over his shoulder. "His body was limp, he was very pale."

A post-mortem examination revealed that he died when the bullet ripped through major veins in his pelvic area.

The coroner, Mr Walker, heard that tests on fragments of the bullet which killed Corporal Budd showed it was likely to have been fired from a Nato weapon.

Ballistics expert Ed Wallace told the court that tests of 24 weapons used by Corporal Budd's comrades had failed to establish if any of them had fired the fatal shot.

But tests on two bullet fragments had established that they were from 5.56 calibre ammunition, which is used in rifles and machine guns issued to British troops.

After hearing Mr Wallace's evidence, Mr Walker told the hearing: "In summary, I can be satisfied on the balance of probability that this was a Nato 5.56 projectile fired from a Nato weapon."

Mr Wallace replied: "Yes, that's the most likely cause."

No other Allied forces were in the area at the time, the inquest was told.

Corporal Budd, of Ripon, North Yorkshire, was awarded the VC, the highest military honour, for heroism shown on the day he died and in action a month earlier, when he spearheaded an attack to allow a wounded colleague to be evacuated for emergency treatment.

His widow Lorena, 24, was eight months pregnant with their second child when he died.

She has since given birth to a girl and accepted her husband's VC on his behalf at a ceremony last December.

After the hearing his widow said: "Bryan laid down his life in an act of supreme valour.


"He did so doing the job he loved and serving in the regiment and with his fellow Paratroopers that meant so much to him."

The couple had a daughter, Isabel, two, and Imogene, who was born days after he died. Mrs Budd added: "He will always be missed but his memory continues to live on."

Recording a narrative verdict, Mr Walker said Corporal Budd died when he was "caught in the crossfire" while leading his men through a cornfield.

His family "must be very proud" of him for showing such bravery while under "withering fire".

Referring to Corporal Budd and his comrades, he added: "That soldiers like these are prepared to face bravely the constant threats to their lives with unhesitating courage is a credit to them, their unit and our Armed Forces."