AN RAF Brize Norton serviceman and his colleague were shot dead moments after posing for pictures with “rogue” Afghan police officers accused of killing them.

Corporal Brent McCarthy along with Lance Corporal Lee Davies were killed in a so-called green-on-blue attack in Afghanistan’s Helmand province on May 12 last year.

Cpl McCarthy, 25, – who had been at Brize since 2009 – had strong links with the local area, playing drums in a Carterton band, 47 Seconds, and hockey with the Brize Norton Wildcats.

Before he and L Cpl Davies were killed, the pair had been sharing “banter” with two Afghans and L Cpl Davies, 27, pointed out that one appeared to have wet himself.

But moments after the two Afghans were photographed, the two British soldiers were gunned down.

Coroner Darren Salter referred to the two photographed men as “rogue police officers” at the inquest.

Questions were asked at the inquest about why an armed soldier – a so-called guardian angel – had not been keeping watch when the attack happened, although the inquest heard it was unclear whose role that was at the time.

The eight-strong team of soldiers, along with an interpreter, had been attending a meeting at a police HQ about 200 metres from their patrol base.

The two-day inquest at Oxford Coroner’s Court heard yesterday that Guardsman Josh Foley, from the MoD’s Police Advisory Team, was with Cpl McCarthy and L Cpl Davies while they spoke to two AK47-carrying Afghan police officers before the attack.

He told the court: “Cpl McCarthy got a camera out and wanted a picture with the AK47.

“L Cpl Davies said ‘it looks like he has p*ssed himself – he is scared of you’. L Cpl Davies said this in a joking manner.”

Asked about the nature of the conversation, Gdm Foley said: “It was just banter and having a general chit chat and mingling with the AP (Afghan Police).”

Gdm Foley, who said he assumed he was the guardian angel because of his rank, was then ordered by L Cpl Davies to take over at one of the base’s watchtowers, and he did not see the attack.

Gdm Foley, along with L Cpl Jo Price – then a Guardsman – who was also at the compound, said they had never seen the two Afghans before the attack.

L Cpl Price, who was in a watchtower looking outside the compound during the attack, said he heard “rapid automatic fire burst” for 10 to 15 seconds, which he determined were from “more than one” weapon.

He said he saw two men running away from the compound – which he said matched the description of the men in the photograph – but did not shoot because he thought they were running towards the culprits – which he presumed were outside the base. The inquest is expected to conclude today.