Home > UK troops in Iraqi torture probe
The Ministry of Defence has launched an investigation
into allegations that British soldiers have been
pictured torturing an Iraqi prisoner.
The photographs, obtained by the Daily Mirror newspaper,
show a suspected thief being beaten and urinated on.
Downing Street swiftly condemned the pictures, echoing
concerns it earlier expressed over images of Iraqi
prisoners being abused by US troops.
The pictures involving American troops provoked
international outrage.
They included a hooded and naked prisoner standing on a
box with wires attached to his genitals.
US President George W Bush vowed that those responsible
would be "taken care of".
If proven, not only is such appalling conduct clearly
unlawful but also contravenes the British Army’s high
standards of conduct Sir Mike Jackson Chief of General
Staff "I shared a deep disgust that those prisoners were
treated the way they were treated. I didn’t like it one
bit," he said.
The people who are alleged to have carried out the abuse
"do not reflect the nature of men and women we sent
overseas", Mr Bush added.
Tony Blair’s official spokesman said this behaviour
directly contravened the US-led coalition’s policy.
Later on Friday Downing Street responded to the pictures
printed in the Mirror.
A spokesman said: "We expect the highest standards of
conduct from our forces in Iraq despite the difficulties
they face."
The UK’s top general, Sir Mike Jackson said if the
allegations proved to be true, the members of the
Queen’s Lancashire regiment, involved were not fit to
wear the uniform.
Defence Minister Adam Ingram told the Mirror the
behaviour was "clearly unacceptable".
If true, those responsible should be arrested by MoD
Police and removed from Iraq immediately Paul Keetch MP
Liberal Democrat defence spokesman He added: "We have,
of course, launched an immediate investigation."
BBC defence correspondent Paul Adams said the MoD was in
a "tailspin" over the news, which threatened the British
mission to win Iraqi "hearts and minds".
The Mirror says the pictures were handed over by British
soldiers who claimed a rogue element in the British army
was responsible for abusing prisoners and civilians.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the soldiers told
the paper no charges were brought against the unnamed
captive.
They allege during his eight-hour ordeal he was
threatened with execution, his jaw broken and his teeth
smashed.
’Losing war’
After being beaten and urinated on, he was driven away
and dumped from the back of a moving vehicle, the
soldiers claimed, unaware if he was dead.
The reason for making the photos public was, they said,
to show why the US-UK coalition was encountering such
fierce resistance in Iraq.
One told the paper: "We are not helping ourselves out
there. We are never going to get them on our side. We
are fighting a losing war."
In a press conference, Sir Mike Jackson, Chief of
General Staff, said: "If proven, not only is such
appalling conduct clearly unlawful but also contravenes
the British Army’s high standards of conduct.
"The allegations are already under investigation.
"Again, if proven, the perpetrators are not fit to wear
the Queen’s uniform and they have besmirched the Army’s
good name and conduct."
But he said the Army should not be judged on the
behaviour of a few soldiers who had let down the good
work of tens of thousands of others.
Ahmed al-Sheik, editor-in-chief of Arab TV news channel,
said the photographs would outrage Arabs around the
world.
"These scenes are humiliating not only to the Iraqis,
but to every Arab citizen around the world," he told BBC
Two’s Newsnight.
Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Paul Keetch called on
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon to come to the Commons to
make a statement on the allegations.
And Donald Anderson, the Labour chairman of the House of
Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said the
pictures could hit the Army’s morale.
This is not the first incidence of alleged abuse by
British troops in Iraq.
Ten claims of torture have been investigated and five
inquiries are ongoing, including one in which soldiers
of the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, based in Catterick,
North Yorkshire, have been questioned about the alleged
killing of an Iraqi. Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk_politics/367521
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