COMMENTS by a Government Minister following an inquest into the death of Captain James Philippson in Afghanistan have angered St Albans MP Anne Main. Capt Philippson from Bricket Wood was the first British soldier to die in the present conflict in Helmand

COMMENTS by a Government Minister following an inquest into the death of Captain James Philippson in Afghanistan have angered St Albans MP Anne Main.

Capt Philippson from Bricket Wood was the first British soldier to die in the present conflict in Helmand province. He was shot in the head during a firefight with the Taliban in June 2006.

At his inquest last month the coroner recorded a narrative verdict in which he said that Capt Philippson was unlawfully killed and he accused the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of breaching British soldiers' trust by sending them to Afghanistan without basic equipment.

After the verdict, Capt Philippson's father, Anthony, said that he held the MoD responsible for his son's death.

Now Anne Main wants Bob Ainsworth, the Minister for the Armed Forces, to retract comments made following the inquest in which it was suggested that the death was partly due to the actions of Capt Philippson's commanding officer, Major Bristow.

Mrs Main said on the BBC this week: "I have called on him to make a formal apology, to withdraw his inaccurate comments and correct them.