The soldier - and his wife
- 1 Aug 06, 04:11 PM
- and the campaign of his wife Sam to know exactly how he died - has been a very unusual one for us.
Steve Roberts was the first British serviceman to die in action in the second Gulf War. Usually, when covering news, we only come across people like the Roberts in the aftermath of a tragedy. But in their case, we knew all about them beforehand.
How? Well, Sam Roberts had been a guest in Leeds when Five Live Breakfast had hosted a discussion about the merits of going to war in Iraq. She had passionately argued her case, supporting the decision to go to war and speaking with pride about what her husband had gone to do.
After the programme, the production team had commented that she had been a very powerful and impressive contributor. We ought to keep tabs on her story, we decided. But there was shock in the office when, within days, we got news that a Sgt Roberts had been killed in action in Iraq. It couldn't be the same officer, surely? It wasn't long before it became clear it was.
A couple of months later, we arranged with Sam to present the programme from her home. Nicky Campbell, complete with producer and engineer, set up camp in her front room in North Yorkshire. Her story was told in what was to become her trademark manner; calm, considered - and compelling.
During that programme we got the first indication that there was even more to this story. We learned that Steve had kept a diary of his experiences - a diary that was to launch about whether troops were adequately protected.
And - apart from following Sam's fight to get the truth about her husband's death - she also appeared on the programme as a guest reporter. As the military claimed victory in Iraq, she interviewed various people as she assessed the cost of that success.
And when George W Bush made a controversial visit to Britain, she reported on people's reaction to his trip - and gave us exclusive access to other wives who has been bereaved by the war.
We await with interest to know whether Sam is satisfied with the official report into her husband's death. We hope to hear from her on Thursday.
Richard Jackson is editor of Five Live Breakfast
Richard Jackson is editor of Five Live Breakfast
That's why we have decided to appoint an environment analyst to try to pull together some of these threads. Roger Harrabin has covered the environment for two decades, largely for radio where he has reported the story as it appears through energy, transport, housing and politics.
