Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Soldier's mother demands Iraq withdrawal

The family's cause has been taken up by the Scottish Socialist party and the Stop the War coalition.

Family friend and Scottish Socialist party member George McNeilage claimed today that Fusilier Gordon Gentle would still be alive if a "vital" piece of equipment had been fitted on his vehicle instead of sitting in a storeroom.

The equipment, an electronic device which jams radio signals used to detonate roadside bombs, was not attached to Fusilier Gentle's vehicle when he was killed. Mr McNeilage added that his regiment was the only one in Iraq which did not have the equipment installed.