A British minister has demanded that material relating to the death of a British soldier in Iraq by American pilots should be made available to his family.
Harriet Harman, the Constitutional Affairs Minister, said release of the material would be in the public interest.
She was speaking after The Sun newspaper printed the transcript of a conversation which the American pilots had before, during and after their mistaken attack on a British patrol.
The US Deputy Ambassador to Britain, David Johnson, said information was shared through military channels but it was against US rules to release such material to a civilian court.
The 'freindly fire' incident took place on 28 March 2003.
Lance Corporal Matty Hull, a 25-year-old British soldier, was killed when a US A-10 tank buster with two pilots attacked the British convoy.
Immediately following the attack the US pilots are heard saying 'god dammit' and 'we're in jail dude'.
The US has refused to allow the airing of the cockpit video, while the British Ministry of Defence had previously refused to acknowledge that the video existed.
Following the British newspaper's pledge to release the video, the MoD said the footage had been used as evidence in an internal Board of Inquiry investigation and said US government permission was required to release it.
The MoD denied that there had been any intention to mislead the family of Lance Corporal Hull and said the family was informed that some classified material had been withheld, but did not specify its exact nature.
Mr Hull's widow said it was 'very disappointing' that the authorities had not made the tape available.
