Steven Roberts (British Army soldier)

Sergeant Steven Mark Roberts (1969–2003)[1] was the first British soldier to die in the 2003 invasion of Iraq on 24 March 2003.

He was accidentally shot by a colleague using a tank-mounted machine gun while he was struggling with an Iraqi protester at a check point in Az Zubayr, near Basra.

The inquest held almost 4 years later into his death concluded he would have survived had he been wearing enhanced combat body armour.

After a lengthy campaign by Sgt Roberts family, in July 2006, the MOD changed their policy on Enhanced Combat Body Armour.

Now no British soldier will go to a theatre of war without the option of wearing Enhanced Combat Body Armour.