dpa
London
British Airways passengers and crew taken hostage in Kuwait are threatening to take legal action against the British government and the airline, after being “treated as disposable collateral,” according to a law firm.
They were on board British Airways flight 149 which landed at Kuwait International Airport in the early hours of August 2, 1990, as Iraqi armed forces were invading. More than 300 people on board were detained by Iraqi troops, marking the start of an ordeal lasting almost five months, which included abuse, starvation, torture, mock executions and being used by the former president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, as human shields against western attacks.
Law firm McCue Jury and Partners said it is representing 95 claimants in relation to the case, who are seeking “compensation for their injuries, pain and suffering.” They all “suffered severe physical and psychiatric harm during their ordeal,” according to the firm, which has written to the government and British Airways saying it may bring legal action.
The government has previously said responsibility for what happened “lies entirely” with the Iraqi authorities at the time, while British Airways has said it was “not warned about the invasion.” Documents released in November 2021 showed the Foreign Office was told by the British ambassador in Kuwait that Iraqi forces had crossed the border an hour before the flight landed.
The information was never passed to British Airways, which was unable to take action to divert the flight, according to the Foreign Office files released to the National Archives. There have been claims that a group of about 10 men who were the first to disembark when the plane landed were special forces troops, but this has always been denied by the government.
