A diplomatic row erupted between London and Washington ght over George Bush's bid to cover up the way bungling US soldiers killed British servicemen in Iraq.
The President's envoy in the UK has been summoned to a humiliating dressing down in Whitehall tomorrow because of a White House refusal to make American troops answer in British courts for their mistakes on the battlefield.
The unprecedented move by Justice Minister Harriet Harman marks one of the biggest public rifts between the allies since Mr Blair came to power.
She will tell Deputy US ambassador David Johnson, one of George Bush's closest diplomatic advisers, that she is no longer prepared to accept America's excuses for refusing to send its servicemen to UK inquests.
Ms Harman says that in return for backing him in the Iraq war, the President has a duty to tell the truth to the families of British soldiers killed by Americans in friendly fire tragedies.
"The families want to know how their loved ones were killed," she told The Mail on Sunday. "They have got that right. I am hoping the Americans will give us full co-operation in the inquests because our special relationship demands honesty and openness.
"They are our allies in Iraq and should respect the grief of the families and not hide from the court. If any of our soldiers had been involved in American friendly-fire deaths we would expect them to attend hearings."
So far not one American serviceman has attended a friendly-fire inquest.
Ms Harman's comments come weeks before the latest inquest into the death of a British soldier killed by US friendly fire.
Lance Corporal Matthew Hull died when an American pilot attacked a British convoy near Basra. The White House has rejected pleas for the airman to attend the inquest.
The inquests row could strain Mr Blair's close relations with Mr Bush - and it comes at a critical time for the PM.
He was forced to admit yesterday that the Iraq war has been a 'disaster'.
It also emerged that loyal Labour Minister Margaret Hodge had privately disowned the war and condemned Mr Blair's 'moral imperialism'.
While Ms Harman has strong backing from Defence Secretary Des Browne, she did not inform Mr Blair in advance of her plan to haul the Americans over the coals, providing fresh evidence of the crumbling authority of the PM as he prepares to step down next year. But her initiative was warmly welcomed by the family of Lance Corporal Hull.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1770

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