Passengers and crew of a British Airways plane taken hostage in Kuwait by Iraqi troops have threatened legal action against the airline and the UK government.
More than 300 people on board British Airways Flight 149 were detained by Saddam Hussein’s forces at Kuwait International Airport in the early hours of August 2, 1990.
They were then used as human shields against Western attacks amid the dictator’s invasion of the Middle Eastern neighbour, while also being subject to rape, starvation, torture and mock executions.
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’ and ‘being treated as disposable collateral’ during their five months as hostages.
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.
British Airways Flight 149 pictured after being blown up by Iraqi forces. Hostages taken from the flight are threatening to sue the UK government and the airline
More than 300 people on board were detained of which 11 were children, including John and Jennifer Chappell (pictured)
Hussein pictured in November 2006. Hostages were used as human shields against western attacks amid the dictator’s invasion of the middle eastern neighbour in 1990
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’.
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The horrifying story of British Airways Flight 149: The passengers were the accidental hostages turned into human shields by Saddam Hussein
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.
McCue Jury and Partners said the Government and British Airways ‘knew the invasion had taken place while the plane was still in the air’ but ‘did nothing to divert it safely’.
It added that ‘evidence demonstrates’ the flight was used to ‘secretly transport a special ops team for immediate and covert deployment to the battlefield’.
One of the passengers in the claim is Barry Manners, who was a 24-year-old businessman at the time of the flight.
He said: ‘We were not treated as citizens but as expendable pawns for commercial and political gain.
‘A victory over years of cover-up and bare-faced denial will help restore trust in our political and judicial process.’
United States Marines pictured by the wreckage of the BA flight
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’
Hussein pictured in 2001. BA passengers and crew were detained by the dictator’s forces at Kuwait International Airport in the early hours of August 2, 1990
Matthew Jury, managing partner of McCue Jury and Partners, said: ‘The lives and safety of innocent civilians were put at risk by the British government and British Airways for the sake of an off-the-books military operation.
‘Both have, we believe, concealed and denied the truth for more than 30 years.
‘The victims and survivors of Flight BA149 deserve justice for being treated as disposable collateral.
‘HMG and BA watched on as children were paraded as human shields by a ruthless dictator, yet they did and admitted nothing.
‘There must be closure and accountability to erase this shameful stain on the UK’s conscience.’
The UK Government declined to comment.
MailOnline has approached British Airways for comment.