LONDON, March 1: The families of British soldiers killed in Iraq have branded Prime Minister Tony Blair a ‘coward’ for refusing to meet them and discuss their concerns about the conflict.

The relatives went to Mr Blair’s Downing Street office on Wednesday to hand in a letter saying that the prime minister talk to them about the reasons why British troops joined the US-led invasion in March 2003 and about withdrawing soldiers from the country.

The letter said: “It is time for you to take us and our views seriously. We believe we speak for the majority in this country in our desire to bring the troops home.”

It argued that too many lives — military and civilian — have been lost in Iraq and there was still no end in sight.

The group, Military Families Against the War, has tried unsuccessfully to meet Mr Blair on several occasions. He was at the Houses of Parliament when the families delivered their letter.

Rose Gentle, who went to Downing Street, wore a T-shirt bearing a picture of her 19-year-old son Gordon, who died in June 2004 while serving with the Royal Highland Fusiliers.

“I am receiving an increasing number of phone calls and texts from people who are serving in the army in Iraq supporting our campaign because they want out.

“I think Tony Blair is too much of a coward to even meet us,” she said.

The families’ renewed demand comes a day after two British troops were killed and another injured in an attack in southern Iraq, where Britain has around 8,000 soldiers, mainly based around Basra.

The latest confirmed fatalities takes the number of British military deaths in Iraq since the invasion to 103.—AFP