Iraq murder trial verdict delayed

A security contractor from Middleton on trial for murdering two colleagues in Iraq will have to wait until next month to find out his fate.

The case of Danny Fitzsimons, 30, has been adjourned to 20 February to allow the court to consider his mental state at the time of the shooting.

The 30-year-old is accused of killing Paul McGuigan, of Peebles, Scotland, and Darren Hoare, of Queensland, Australia, both 37 on 9 August, 2009.

All three men were working for the British security firm ArmorGroup Iraq.

If found guilty, he could face a possible death sentence in Iraq.

He is the first Westerner to go on trial in an Iraqi court since a 2009 US–Iraqi security agreement lifted immunity for foreign contractors.