STEPHEN DAVIS: investigating the secrets surrounding Flight 149

By Jon Snow

Snowcast

18/09/23·39m 13s

Stephen Davis is an investigative journalist and author, who has worked around the world, on newspaper stories and documentaries.

He’s also a podcaster, whose most recent series investigates the sinking of the passenger ferry Estonia. It is Europe’s worst shipping disaster - since the Titanic - and a gripping tale of tragedy, smuggling, and spies.

But this interview will focus on the fate of British Airways Flight 149. This is another story which reads like a film script and which Stephen has been covering for more than 30 years.

On the 1st August 1990, nearly 400 passengers and flight crew were caught up in the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. They were taken hostage, used as human shields, and endured months of terror.

Many of the hostages hold Saddam Hussein principally responsible for their ordeal. But they also believe that Flight 149 should never have landed in Kuwait. And they are now taking legal action against the British Government and British Airways, for their alleged role in the ordeal.