Stating that he believed there were few more facts to be unearthed Walker said, "The attack on the convoy amounted to an assault. It was unlawful because there was no lawful reason for it, and in that respect it was criminal. I don't think this was a case of honest mistake. There is no evidence the pilots were acting in self-defense. I believe that the full facts have not yet come to light."

Expressing relief at the verdict, Hull's widow, Susan said that she was "very disappointed" with the response of the Americans into the inquest. "I hope they're are peace with themselves and can move on with their lives. I'm sure they are feeling remorseful, I hope they are", she added.

She also appealed to US President George Bush to make every effort to release the full text of the military report on the incident. The US army supplied the full report of the incident, but had blackened out 11 lines in the copy.

"We have 1,110 lines of evidence from this document, but 11 are blanked out. To President Bush and the U.S. government, we implore you to release the 11 lines and let the coroner have these today, so that our family can feel more satisfied with the transparency of this inquest", she added.

The incident took place in March 2003, when the British troops were closing in on Basra. Two American A10 planes were called in for air support.

Even though Matty Hull's convoy was draped in orange fabric, used to mark allied troops, the pilots of one of the planes attacked it twice, convincing themselves that the convoy was infact enemy rocket launchers. Matty Hull was killed in the attack and four other members of his regiment were injured. 

The matter came to light when a copy of a cockpit recording of the plane was leaked to the press. The two US pilots had no combat experience and Andrew Walker said that he could not believe that the incident was an act of "friendly fire".
 

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