Sgt Steve Roberts was the victim of suspected 'friendly fire'

Sgt Steven Roberts, 33, of the Second Royal Tank regiment, died in March 2003 from suspected "friendly fire".

He had been told to give up the body armour that would have saved his life as it was needed by other soldiers.

The sergeant, from Shipley, West Yorkshire, was shot as he was trying to quell a riot in Al Zubayr, near Basra.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The evidence produced by the Royal Military Police Special Investigations Branch has been transferred by the chain of command.

"It has been passed to the Army Prosecuting Authority for consideration."

Fatal bullet

He had been issued with enhanced body armour but was told to hand it back because a tank regiment did not have enough, said a Ministry of Defence report last December.

Although he still had standard body armour, pathologists concluded the enhanced armour, which had ceramic body plates, would have stopped the bullet which killed him.

A senior officer from his regiment wrote to Sgt Roberts' family saying another commander had accidentally fired at him.

The Iraqi he was aiming at was killed but "tragically Steve was also hit".

Sgt Roberts, originally from Wadebridge, Cornwall, was the first British soldier to die in action in Iraq.

In January, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said he was "extremely sorry" Sgt Roberts had lacked the proper body armour.

Sgt Roberts' widow, Samantha, of Shipley, called for Mr Hoon to resign.