An engineer wounded in Iraq brought a landmark claim for damages yesterday against the Ministry of Defence and a private consultancy in a move that could pave the way for other civilians injured in war zones to sue their employers.

Graham Hopps, 45, lost his right shoulder in a roadside bomb while travelling on a road known as “bomb alley” in an unarmoured Land Rover Discovery in Basra in the autumn of 2003. He accuses Mott MacDonald, the consultancy that hired him, and the Ministry of Defence of failing to provide better-protected vehicles when driving down “unapproved” routes.

“This case is very important not just for myself but for every other contractor that works out in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan,” Mr Hopps told The Times outside the Royal Courts of Justice, where the case is being heard.

“A lot of these companies get away with cutting corners for people and it’s not right. It needs to be sorted out,” said the father of two from Leeds. He was a contractor on a power station construction project run by Mott MacDonald, which is working on the reconstruction effort for the British Government.

Source: Times Online