Rose Gentle said she wanted to meet the prime minister to discuss her son's death

Gordon Gentle, 19, who served with the Royal Highland Fusiliers, died in a roadside explosion in Basra in June.

Rose Gentle believes the Ministry of Defence was negligent and breached its duty of care towards her son.

She said her family, from Glasgow, wanted to see the prime minister to ask him about his policy in Iraq.

They have already revealed plans to sue the MoD over Private Gentle's death.

The private's family said they believed the blast which killed him was triggered remotely and the attack could have been prevented if his vehicle had been fitted with the right equipment.

If I met Tony Blair right now, I would ask him to sit down and think why he is sending young kids to their death for the sake of lies Rose Gentle

Speaking at a media conference on Tuesday, Mrs Gentle said: "I want to see the top man.

"If I met Tony Blair right now, I would ask him to sit down and think why he is sending young kids to their death for the sake of lies which are coming out.

"He said if there were no nuclear weapons he would resign, so why is he going to be sending more young kids out there?"

Gordon Gentle's mobile patrol was attacked

John Cooper - the barrister who represented relatives of the soldiers who died at the Deepcut Army Barracks - will handle her case.

Mrs Gentle previously stormed out of a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott after accusing him of "talking rubbish".

She said: "After our experience with John Prescott, we are more determined than ever to stick at it, in the hope that we can help prevent other families from having to go through the loss and suffering we have faced.

"I am sure thousands of other families feel the same as us, and want our sons and daughters home out of Iraq."

There can be no way of preventing this kind of incident absolutely, it would be quite impossible Eric Joyce Labour MP

She also claimed the MoD placed protective equipment on her son's vehicle after he died.

Mrs Gentle said: "It was just sheer neglect, why didn't they put it on in the first place?

"Every time something happens with the Army there's always a cover-up so I think it's time somebody started putting their points forward."

A Downing Street spokesman would not comment on what was said at the media conference.

However, he added: "The prime minister has seen the letter from Maxine Gentle and he will be replying."

The 14-year-old wrote to Mr Blair earlier this month about the death of her brother.

Death 'preventable'

Scottish Socialist Party member George McNeilage also claimed Pte Gentle would still be alive if the MoD had fitted his vehicle with the equipment.

Labour MP Eric Joyce, a former Army major, expressed sadness and sympathy for Mrs Gentle's loss.

However, Mr Joyce said the death of soldiers was an inevitable consequence of deploying troops.

He added: "Protection is an important priority for any commander, but you cannot, ultimately, remove the risk of someone putting a bomb at a roadside and waiting for troops to come along.

"There can be no way of preventing this kind of incident absolutely."