Grieving over the death of her son in Afghanistan, the woman tore into British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown gestures during his monthly news conference at 10 Downing...
Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown gestures during his monthly news conference at 10 Downing Street in London, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009. Facing sliding support for the war in Afghanistan, if not the troops, Brown is facing criticism for faults ranging from inadequate equipment for the troops to sloppy handwriting and spelling in letters to the families of soldiers killed in combat. He most recently came under fire for misspelling the names of Jacqui Janes and her son, Jamie Janes, who was killed in combat. Brown had to call her to apologize. "I understand very well the sadness that she feels, and the way that she has expressed her grief is something that I can also clearly understand," Brown said. Brown told reporters that the fight in Afghanistan is crucial for preventing al-Qaida terrorist attacks on the streets of Britain.(AP Photo/Stefan Wermuth, pool)
(AP)
"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.
