The controversy over the fate of two missing British soldiers continues as the family of one of the two, presumed dead in Iraq, has accused Mr Tony Blair of lying over how he was killed.
Sapper Luke Allsopp (24) was last seen on Sunday when he and Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth (36) were caught up in enemy fire near Basra.
The bodies of what were said to be two dead British servicemen were later shown on television near their upturned Land Rover, prompting condemnation from Mr Blair.
Although admitting there was not conclusive proof how the pair died, Mr Blair's official spokesman insisted the prime minister had been right to say the two Royal Engineer bomb disposal experts had been executed.
But Sapper Allsopp's sister, Nina, and Iraqi authorities say the claims are "lies".
She has told the Daily Mirrorsenior officers from her brother's barracks informed the family he had been killed instantly in battle. "It makes a big difference to use knowing that he died quickly," she told the newspaper.
The Iraqi information minister, Mohammad Saeed al-Sahafin, told Abu Dhabi television Mr Blair had "lied to the public" by saying it was likely the two soldiers had been killed in "a very brutal fashion".
He said: "To launch a psychological war on us he said you have executed. We haven't executed anyone".
PA