FAMILIES of six British Red Caps shot in a barren Iraqi police station faced the horrifying prospect yesterday that their loved ones had been systematically executed.

An inquest opened in Oxford almost two years after the death of the six Royal Military Policemen including Lance-Corporal Thomas Richard Keys, 20, from Bala, Gwynedd.

They were all shot by a large mob of Iraqi insurgents after being holed up in the police station in Al Majar Al Kabir on June 24 2003.

But reports suggest that they were not just killed in a gun battle - some were rounded up in a tiny room and systematically shot in the head by insurgents.

It was the largest loss of British life under hostile fire since the Falklands war and angry relatives have branded the town a "death trap". They are asking why the soldiers were sent into the Maysan province, where there was one deadly Kalashnikov gun for every one of the 500,000 population.

The families of the dead are set to face many more hours of difficult listening as the inquest continues.

The man in charge of the situation at Al Majar Al Kabir said that he did not think that it was a particularly volatile area in the period leading up to the multiple deaths.

But the commander in charge, Colonel Thomas A Beckett, has denied claims that the men were sent into a volatile "powder keg" situation.

Col Beckett, the first witness at the inquest, was challenged that the six Royal Military Police were set an "impossible and impracticable task".

He painted a picture of a population split down political, religious and tribal lines.

"The whole of society had fragmented [after Saddam fell]," he said.

A two-week weapons amnesty had failed to bring in any significant amount of weapons.

"The incident would never have happened if the community had not been so well-armed," he said.

Nevertheless, the people were "benign but fragile".

Locals had previously fought against Saddam's regime and proudly reported how they launched an attack on "Chemical Ali" as he fled coalition forces in Baghdad.

There was not any previous history of attacks against troops, said Colonel Beckett.

He said it was a different atmosphere to the war-torn city of Basra, just 100 miles away, and it was the battalion's role to interact with local people to bring a sense of well-being to the location.

"The intent (of the locals) was to work with the coalition, that was my belief.

"It was a genuinely-held belief by the majority of people that this was the most benign province in Iraq.

"The relief of the local people was clear to see. They were so happy to see us."

But Col Beckett did point out that the society was armed "in a way we do not understand in Western Europe".

He said, "One of the things that Saddam Hussein did was to put weapons and ammunition into storage houses and hospitals."

John Mackenzie, solicitor for the bereaved families, asked why there were only some 1,060 from the UK Battle Group in the province, when there are around 20,000 in similarly-sized Northern Ireland.

"You were sitting on a powder keg," said Mr Mackenzie.

But Col Beckett responded, "I was certain the position was benign, but fragile.

"If I had thought it was a powder keg I would have described it as a powder keg."

Col Beckett said that after the end of hostilities against Saddam, Royal Military Police were needed to train up a new Iraqi police force.

Initially they were assigned the whole of 156 Provost Company, in which the six dead Red Caps served, but this meant only 20 to 25 soldiers to train up the entire provincial police force.

"You must have viewed that task with despair," said Mr Mackenzie.

Col Beckett said, "I would have preferred more."

Some of the families of the dead men have spoken out, feeling that their deaths could have been prevented.

Corporal Paul Graham Long, 24, from Colchester; Sergeant Simon Hamilton-Jewell, 41, from Chessington, Surrey; Corporal Russell Aston, 30, from Swadlincote, Derbyshire; Corporal Simon Miller, 21, from Washington, Tyne & Wear; Lance-Corporal Benjamin John McGowan Hyde, 23, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire; and Lance-Corporal Keys were all killed by the mob.

Speaking for the families, Reg Keys, father of Lance-Corporal Keys , said the Army's "cavalier attitude" would become apparent in the inquest.

Mr Keys said he was confident that coroner Nicholas Gardiner would call for a public inquiry into the deaths after the inquest, which he believed would reveal "some surprises".

He said the Army's Board of Inquiry report, released 12 months ago, was insufficient, and added, "For the Army to say these deaths could not have been prevented is simply not true - this town was a death trap."

Mike Aston, 63, of Swadlincote, Derbyshire, whose son Russell also died in the incident, said much of the Board of Inquiry evidence had been contradictory.

He said, "I hope this inquest will put people in the witness box to be answerable for actions they took on that day and for statements which appear to be contradictory."

The coroner adjourned the inquest until today, when pathological and ballistics evidence will be heard.