Grieving British mother rips into Brown on phone

WOOTTON BASSETT, England — Grieving over the death of her son in Afghanistan, the woman tore into British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"Mr. Brown, listen to me," she said. "I know every injury that my child sustained that day. I know that my son could have survived. But my son bled to death."

A tape of the 13-minute telephone conversation was broadcast by The Sun newspaper Tuesday and then played over and over across Britain, a rallying cry for mounting anger over a war many now see as badly planned and impossible to win.

It came as six other British soldiers killed in Afghanistan were brought home on the eve of Remembrance Day, when Britain honors its war dead. That, too, provided powerful symbolism for a war gone bad, with hundreds of mourners lining the streets and throwing flowers as the hearses made their way through this market town in south central England.

Jacqui Janes' 20-year-old son, Jamie, was not in Tuesday's somber procession. He was mortally wounded by a roadside bomb last month.

When Brown called Monday to offer condolences, her anger and grief boiled over, and she berated him for a lack of troop helicopters, equipment and his spelling errors in the letter — addressing her as "Mrs. James" and making a mistake in her son's name.

There were 25 errors in all, she said, "an insult to my child."

Brown tried multiple times to defend himself, only to be interrupted by Janes.

"I cannot believe I have been brought down to the level of having an argument with the prime minister of my own country," she said.

Brown, who lost an infant daughter in 2002 and is nearly blind in one eye, apologized for his mistakes and offered his condolences.

"However strongly you feel about my mistakes in this matter, I still feel very, very personally sad about the death of your son and I want you to know that, and I'm sorry if you've taken offense at my letter," Brown said.

Britain is at a crossroads in its Afghanistan policy as it considers plans to boost troop numbers — all while balancing waning public support and demanding democratic reform in the ravaged nation.

Five of the soldiers returned Tuesday were killed by an Afghan officer they had worked with. The deaths have triggered a sense of betrayal among Britons, and mourners gathered in Wootton Bassett questioned whether foreign troops would ever win the loyalty of the Afghan people.

British and allied troops have spent years training Afghan forces and securing villages vulnerable to Taliban attacks since the mission began in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The sixth soldier was killed in a roadside bomb two days later. The soldiers ranged in age from 18 to 40.