No charges over reporter's death

Mr Lloyd's interpreter was also killed

There is insufficient evidence to prosecute any US soldier over the death of ITN journalist Terry Lloyd in Iraq, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.

Mr Lloyd was shot dead in March 2003 on the outskirts of Basra. The fatal shot came from an American weapon.

A coroner ruled in 2006 that Mr Lloyd, 50, was unlawfully killed by troops and called for charges against them.

A CPS spokesman said he understood the news would be "very upsetting" for the family and friends of Mr Lloyd.

At the inquest in October 2006, the coroner said the troops shot Mr Lloyd in the head while he was in a makeshift ambulance, having already been hurt in crossfire.

Mr Lloyd's interpreter Hussein Osman was also killed and his cameraman Fred Nerac is missing, believed dead, following the shooting.

The names of 16 US marines who were present when Mr Lloyd was killed were revealed by ITN in March last year.

ITN said the names were provided by a "marine source" and that one of the named men "almost certainly" fired the shot that killed Mr Lloyd.

A CPS spokesman said there was insufficient evidence for a successful prosecution.

"I understand that this will be very upsetting news for the family and friends of Mr Lloyd but I can reassure them that every care was taken in pursuing lines of inquiry and reviewing the evidence," he added.

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