View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Archive content
April 13, 2006updated 22 Nov 2022 6:54pm

Jack Straw to meet slain reporter’s family

By Press Gazette

By Jennifer Sym, PA

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has agreed to meet the family of award-winning documentary maker James Miller after a jury found he had been murdered by an Israeli soldier.

Following the jury’s decision at St Pancras Coroner’s Court in London last week, his bereaved family pressed for an immediate meeting with the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Attorney General to discuss the case.

The Foreign Secretary, who met the family a month after the murder in 2003, has agreed to meet them again, but an appointment has not yet been confirmed by his office. The Miller Family has not heard from the Attorney General or the Prime Minister.

The Miller family’s solicitor, Louise Christian, said Miller’s death was "essentially murder of a civilian by a soldier". She added that there should therefore be a prosecution against those responsible under the Geneva Convention.

Miller was fatally shot in the neck by a soldier from the Israeli Defence Forces in the Gaza Strip on 2 May, 2003.

Miller, 34, was making Death in Gaza, a film about Palestinian children in the Rafah refugee camp, when he approached soldiers to ask if it was safe to leave the area. He was wearing a flak jacket with the letters "TV" written in bright fluorescent tape, while he shone a torch on a large white flag carried by his interpreter.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

He was then shot three times.

Following the verdict that Miller had been murdered, his wife, Sophy, 35, said: "In the court room, it was wholly overwhelming, hearing the unanimous verdict that James had been murdered, and finally hearing it after three years.

Coming away it is a relief that all the evidence has actually been seen for what it is and for what we have known for three years. And that a jury unanimously concluded that James was deliberately killed, that he was murdered."

During the inquest, she had named the Israeli soldier who shot her husband as first lieutenant Haib from the Bedouin Desert Reconnaissance Battalion, who was leading the unit at the time of Mr Miller’s shooting. He is still serving in the military and has never been charged or prosecuted over the shooting.

The family’s statement added: "[The verdict] was the truth the Israeli authorities knew from the very beginning, but one that has had to be prised out in the face of obstruction and deceit by the Israeli perpetrators."

The Israeli Embassy in London said in a statement: "Israel regrets the tragic death of James Miller. The recent wave of terrorism has taken thousands of lives and Israelis know all to well the pain involved in such loss.

"After a very thorough investigation using laboratories in Israel and abroad and after reviewing all available evidence, it was not possible to reach a conclusion that could provide a basis for proceedings under criminal law. These considerations regarding evidence are relevant in all legal systems, including the UK."

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network