Rose Gentle said she did not want another mother to suffer heartache

Rose Gentle, 40, has been a fierce critic of the UK's role in the Iraq conflict since her 19-year-old son Gordon was killed in Basra in June.

He died after a roadside bomb was detonated while he was on patrol.

Private Gentle was serving with the Royal Highland Fusiliers and was killed just weeks after completing his training.

The Gentle family, from Glasgow, said they believed the blast which killed Pte Gentle was triggered remotely and the attack could have been prevented if his vehicle had been fitted with the right equipment.

The Ministry of Defence has expressed its sympathies to the private's family.

Mrs Gentle said she has received hundreds of letters of support urging her to continue her campaign, including some from soldiers.

Pte Gentle was killed while on patrol in Basra

"My son should never have been sent to Iraq in the first place," she said.

"Tony Blair lied to justify an illegal invasion. He has the blood of Gordon and thousands of others on his hands.

"I don't want another mother to go through my heartbreak. All the British soldiers should be pulled out of Iraq by Christmas."

Mrs Gentle said she was angry that her son was killed in Iraq but did not qualify for a pension.

"We got a pamphlet in a few weeks ago about Gordon's insurance and it said that because he had only been in so long, he was not entitled to a pension," she said.

"If he was not entitled to a pension, why was he sent to war?

"I don't understand why he can get killed in a war but does not qualify for a pension."

Resignation call

Mrs Gentle also said the prime minister should resign over his decision to go to war in Iraq.

"He should resign. If anyone votes for Tony Blair to get back in, they are as bad as him," she said.

"He is getting a chance to send more innocent people to be killed.

"The people who back him, none of them have sons or daughters in the armed forces."

Scottish Socialist Party leader Tommy Sheridan stated his support for Mrs Gentle's campaign.

He said he was appalled by the way the family had been treated and accused the MoD of hypocrisy over the pension issue.