Thursday, 11 February 2010
Brave ... widow Susan viewed film of attack
Pictures: DAN CHARITY, PETER JORDAN and STEVE FINN
Brave Susan Hull’s eyes remained firmly fixed on the secret video, exposed by The Sun yesterday.
And she said: “I always knew there was a cover-up ? and this proves it. All I ever wanted was the truth about what happened to Matty, but no one was prepared to be honest with me.
“I’ve waited four long years to see this footage. Finally here I am seeing my husband die at the hands of two imbeciles.”
We showed the film to primary schoolteacher Susan in the living room of her detached home in Shaftesbury, Wilts.
Incredibly, she had been repeatedly told the tape did not exist.
But the brunette had campaigned tirelessly to discover the truth and get justice for Matty, whom she first met as a teenager and wed in July 2000.
Susan, 30, went on: “I am really grateful to The Sun for exposing this lie. I always knew there was something seriously wrong with the circumstances surrounding Matty’s death.
To see footage from the cockpit
“All the time the Ministry of Defence tried to fob me off by saying that no procedures had been violated.” Susan added:
Matty was the most professional man I have ever met and he lost his life to two of the most unprofessional he had the misfortune to come in contact with. I was told the American pilots did not have the authority to engage their weapons, but that their confusion happened in the ?fog of war’.
That damn phrase makes me so mad because there was absolutely no reason why they should have attacked. The pilots were not under fire ? in fact they were not under any threat.
I feel really relieved at being able to watch this footage for the first time. Not knowing is worse than knowing sometimes. I am looking at the last moments of Matty’s life ? the life of an exceptional man, cut short by sheer and utter incompetence. Thankfully it’s not graphic in any way, but it is shocking because of the pilots’ stupidity. Yet instead of being reprimanded, they were allowed to take to the skies again and put other allied soldiers at risk.
What has really hit me hard is that these pilots killed my husband in an almost casual fashion. Even when they realise their dreadful mistake they are more concerned for themselves than their victims.
They ended Matty’s life in seconds, but their actions left a lifetime of grief for myself and his family. The effect on us all was shattering. We lost him forever.
But equally devastating was knowing I was constantly being lied to about what happened. I was determined to find the truth no matter how long it took.
Susan said she “felt sick” as she heard the pilots appear to JOKE after striking Matty’s convoy. Putting her hands to her face, she gasped: “My God can this get any worse?
“Matty’s life was wiped out by people who don’t seem to know what they were doing or seem to care. They talk about orange rockets on the top of the vehicles, but no such things exist.
“There were so many opportunities for these men to realise their targets were friendly forces. I was angry for a long time, but now I feel sad. Time has eased the pain but not being told the truth felt like having a wound cut open again and again.”
Eight months after Matty’s death in March 2003, Susan met US President George Bush at London’s Westminster Abbey.
She said: “I handed him a letter and he shook my hand and said, ?I promise I’ll do everything I can to help you’.
“But it didn’t get me any closer to the truth. The first ray of hope was when the MoD finally allowed me to see papers on the attack on Matty’s convoy.
“Incredibly, among them was part of the pilots’ transcript. Now I’ve seen the footage, I realise their version was diluted.
“I emailed them afterwards and said I was very much looking forward to receiving copies of the documentation ? particularly the full cockpit transcript.
“I got a hurried reply saying it would breach the Official Secrets Act and I couldn’t. It had been left in the file by accident and I clearly wasn’t supposed to have seen it. But it was the first piece of evidence that my suspicions were right.
“I still felt it was going to be a long and difficult road to get hold of the video. That’s why I’m so thankful to The Sun.
“None of this will bring my husband back, but it has helped me to get closure.
“It’s little comfort, though, that the authorities went out of their way to protect the guilty while the innocent suffered so much.
“They have been more concerned about covering up the mistakes than acknowledging the death of a decent man and simply telling the truth.”
But Susan was last night overjoyed at the news that the Americans are now due to officially release the footage to Matty’s inquest. She said “It’s excellent.”