CRIMINAL action should be taken against those who led UK troops into Iraq, the father of a Colchester-based soldier has said.

John Hyde, 68, said the Chilcot report was far more damning of former Prime Minister Tony Blair than he ever thought it would be.

Mr Hyde yesterday travelled from his home in north Yorkshire to spend the morning in London with hundreds of other family members, pouring over the report before it was made public.

His son, Lance Corporal Ben Hyde, was one of six Royal Military Policemen, based in Colchester, who died at the hands of an angry mob in Iraq in June 2003.

Mr Hyde said: “Obviously we knew about a lot of the problems. Ben would often ring up about them while he was there, saying they didn’t have the right equipment. But the report criticises Tony Blair in just about everything.

“Certainly there should be some things further investigated with a possibility of someone taking criminal action.

“There are things Blair did which he didn’t have the authority for.

“He is a supreme politician and I can respect that, but, as a person, he is not nice at all.

“I don’t think there’s anything he can say. It’s too late.”

L Cpl Hyde died alongside Cpl Paul Long, Sgt Simon Hamilton Jewell, Cpl Russell Aston, Cpl Simon Miller, and L Cpl Thomas Keys.

The six were in a police station in Al Majar Al Kabir when they came under attack.

It emerged afterwards they should have been issued with satellite phones, but weren’t, despite them being available.

The inquest into their deaths heard they also had too little ammunition.

Mr Hyde said: “It all comes back to Tony Blair not listening to people when they were saying they needed more boots on the ground. There was no real planning. The resources were never there, and then when they went into Afghanistan, there were more shortages with the Army being in two places at once. The report says it’s all down to Tony Blair.”

Mr Hyde praised Sir John Chilcot for the detailed report, saying the seven years it took to complete was worth the wait.

He said: “I have a lot of respect for John Chilcot.

“I met him several years ago and I got the impression he wanted to so something very in depth and sincere and I think that’s what he has done.

“The publication hasn’t been delayed by him and for the report to be as thorough as it is is excellent considering people tried to block parts of it from being published.

“It’s nice, that’s not the right word, but to be able to read exactly what was done that shouldn’t have been done and what should have been done that wasn’t done is something I never expected to see.”

The publication of the report is not the end of the fight for the family.

They have long been campaigning for a second inquest into the murder of the six Red Caps after it emerged some information given at the first inquest was incorrect.

A decision is due to be made this weekend by the Attorney General.

Mr Hyde added: “Ben was proud of what he was. I remember his passing out parade.

“When they were doing the march past, I was videoing it, so although Ben was 50 yards away from me, I was seeing it as though he was five metres away.

“The intent expression on his face at that time, I just burst into tears. He was so proud and determined.

“I will always remember.”

Another father of the Colchester six spent yesterday looking at the report.

Reg Keys, father of LCpl Thomas Keys, has campaigned for justice for his son since his death, even standing against then Prime MInister Tony Blair in the 2005 General Election.

He said: “When we look at Iraq on our TV screens today, the 200-plus deaths that took place the other day, I can only conclude that, sadly, my son died in vain.

“Now we have had the endorsement of a thorough, robust, inquiry, which has endorsed all the families’ fears that these young men and women were deployed on the basis of a falsehood and now we have had the backing of Sir John with our beliefs.

“It has given us a launchpad to go forward and search for yet more answers.”