Call For Justice After Iraq Abuse Inquiry

The crown prosecution service is under pressure to bring civil prosecutions against soldiers involved in the abuse of an innocent Iraqi civilian who died in British army custody, after an inquiry found his death was caused by “an appalling episode of serious gratuitous violence”.











Daoud Mousa, father of Baha Mousa, shows photographs of his son and family.

Fourteen soldiers mentioned in the report are still serving, but some were suspended from duty on Thursday. MoD officials expect more suspensions in the coming days.

Baha Mousa, a hotel worker, died in Basra in September 2003 after soldiers repeatedly deprived him of sleep, placed a hood over his head and subjected him to banned “stress positions”.

Sir William Gage, the chairman of the inquiry, called the behaviour “wholly unacceptable in any circumstances”.

Mr Mousa sustained 93 injuries, including fractured ribs and a broken nose over 36 hours of systematic abuse between September 14 and 15, 2003.

Sir William said: “The events described in the report represent a very serious and regrettable incident. Such an incident should not have happened and should never happen again.’’

The directors of both public and service prosecutions are now considering whether the soldiers involved should face trial. Lawyers and campaigners insist they should be tried in public courts.

Sapna Malik, from law firm Leigh Day, said: “In light of the cogent and serious findings by Sir William Gage, we now expect that the military and civilian prosecuting authorities of this country will act to ensure that justice is done.”

Phil Shiner, from Public Interest Lawyers, added that it was an “absolute imperative” that prosecutions were brought in a civilian court.

Liam Fox, the defence secretary, said: “There is no place in our Armed Forces for the mistreatment of detainees and there is no place for a perverted sense of loyalty that turns a blind eye to wrongdoing or erects a wall of silence to cover it up.”

He added that the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (or IHAT), which started work in November 2010, was considering this and other reported cases of abuse.

“It is too early to comment on what the conclusions of the IHAT investigations might be, but cases will be referred to the director of service prosecutions, if and when there is sufficient evidence to justify this,” Mr Fox said.

Sir William issued a total of 73 recommendations to improve the way detainees are handled.

These included asking detainees “on entry and exit from a theatre-level detention facility” if they had any complaints about their treatment, and suggesting Her Majesty's Inspector of Prisons visit battlefield holding centres.

The former Court of Appeal judge condemned the actions of Corporal Donald Payne, who pleaded guilty in September 2006 to inhumane treatment of prisoners, as well as senior officers, including the commanding officer Colonel Jorge Mendonca, Lieutenant Craig Rodgers and Major Michael Peebles.

He said Cpl Payne was a “violent bully” who inflicted a “dreadful catalogue of unjustified and brutal violence” on Mr Mousa and other detainees and encouraged junior soldiers to do the same.

Seven soldiers faced allegations relating to the mistreatment of the detainees at a court martial in 2006-07, but only one was found guilty.

Baha Mousa Inquiry: MoD's Guilt For Death Of Army's Iraqi Prisoner

Nineteen soldiers could face criminal charges for their role in the death of an innocent Iraqi man after a public inquiry found he was the victim of “appalling and cowardly” violence while in British custody.












Baha Mousa with his son.

Military and civilian prosecuting authorities are examining the findings of a three-year inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa, a hotel receptionist who died after a 36-hour ordeal at the hands of British soldiers in Basra in September 2003. Nine other civilians were bound, hooded and subjected to “serious, gratuitous violence”.

The inquiry, chaired by Sir William Gage, a retired judge, found the Ministry of Defence guilty of a “corporate failure” to uphold basic standards by allowing rules to go “largely forgotten”. While clearing the soldiers’ unit, the 1st Bn Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, of having an “entrenched culture of violence”, he said it was clear the abuses were not a one-off.

Dr Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, said the events described in the report were “deplorable, shocking and shameful” and instructed the head of the Army to take action against any serving personnel who were involved.

Three serving soldiers, including an officer, have already been suspended from duty as a result of the inquiry.

Dr Fox told the Commons: “Baha Mousa was not a casualty of war. His death occurred as a detainee in British custody – it was avoidable and preventable and there can be no excuses. There is no place in our Armed Forces for the mistreatment of detainees and there is no place for a perverted sense of loyalty that turns a blind eye to wrongdoing or erects a wall of silence to cover it up.”

The 1,400-page report details how the victims spent a day and a half with bags tied around their heads while being forced to stand in “stress positions” – practices banned under both domestic law and the Geneva Conventions.

Last night the Chief of the General Staff, Sir Peter Wall, said the incident “cast a dark shadow” over the reputation of the Army while David Cameron condemned the “truly shocking and appalling” abuse which he said should never be repeated.

The £13 million inquiry singled out 19 soldiers whom it concluded were directly involved in the abuse, including some who have already faced unsuccessful prosecution at court martial.

Lawyers for families of the victims said there was potentially the evidence to bring new prosecutions against all of them in the civilian courts. It emerged last night that three soldiers serving in the Army, including an officer, had been suspended from duties and MoD sources believed another 11 former servicemen could also face charges.

The suspended officer, Maj Mike Peebles of the Intelligence Corps, would face a second court martial if Army prosecutors believed there was sufficient new evidence. He was originally acquitted of negligently performing a duty during a court martial in 2007 when he was among six soldiers to walk free after the effective collapse of a £20 million case.

Only Cpl Donald Payne, named as committing some of the worst abuses, was convicted at the original court martial after pleading guilty to inhumane treatment. He was cleared of manslaughter but jailed for a year. Six others, including the regiment’s former commanding officer, Col Jorge Mendonça, were cleared of charges.

Yesterday both he and Maj Peebles were singled out as bearing “heavy responsibility” for what happened. Several soldiers who were not involved in the original court martial are among those who could now face prosecution.

This could include a large number of men who have left the Forces.

Dr Fox said efforts were already under way to determine whether “more can be done to bring those responsible to justice”. He told MPs that the MoD’s Iraq Historic Allegations Team had found evidence of “some concern” and cases would be passed to the Director of Service Prosecutions where there was “sufficient” evidence. Any eventual cases would be likely to be brought by the Crown Prosecution Service as most of the men were now civilians. Sapna Malik, a lawyer representing the Iraqi families, said they “expect” both military and civilian prosecuting authorities to act.

Despite the criticism, Dr Fox rejected a key recommendation in the report for a blanket ban on so-called “harsh” questioning methods, warning that lives could be put at risk unless the Forces could deploy all “necessary” techniques.

Army Suspends Baha Mousa Soldiers As More Prosecutions Are Considered

General Sir Peter Wall, the head of the army, says new evidence could mean further disciplinary action against soldiers.












General Sir Peter Wall says further prosecutions against soldiers are being considered after fresh evidence was unearthed.

The army has suspended a number of soldiers after the publication of a damning report into the "violent and cowardly abuse" by servicemen that led to the death of an Iraqi detainee in British military custody.

There have been widespread calls for further prosecutions and the defence secretary, Liam Fox, disclosed that Ministry of Defence inquiries "are revealing evidence of some concern" in other Iraqi abuse cases.

Fox acknowledged for the first time that there could be more prosecutions. "If any serviceman or woman, no matter the colour of uniform they wear, is found to have betrayed the values this country stands for and the standards we hold dear, they will be held to account," he said.

General Sir Peter Wall, head of the army, confirmed that the force's provost martial will investigate whether anyone else should be disciplined in the light of fresh evidence unearthed by Sir William Gage's inquiry into the final hours of Baha Mousa's life in Basra in 2003.

Wall said the inquiry had cast a "dark shadow" over the service's reputation.

The retired appeal court judge's report, which runs to three volumes, found that troops from 1st Battalion Queen's Lancashire Regiment inflicted "gratuitous" violence on a group of 10 Iraqi civilians, who were kicked and hit in turn, "causing them to emit groans and other noises and thereby playing them like musical instruments". This humiliating practice was nicknamed "the choir".

While focusing criticism on a few members of the regiment – particularly Corporal Donald Payne, Lieutenant Craig Rodgers and Lieutenant Colonel Jorge Mendonca – the report also passes scathing comment on the role of the unit's regimental medical officer, Dr Derek Keilloh, and its padre, Father Peter Madden.

Both Keilloh and Madden face further hearings: the doctor will be examined by a General Medical Council disciplinary tribunal over his role in Iraq and the priest is to be interviewed by the archbishop of Birmingham, Bernard Longley.

The report will be passed to prosecutors to assess whether fresh charges should be brought against any soldiers. So far only Payne has been convicted of inhumanely treating civilians; he served one year in prison.

Fox said: "There is no place in our armed forces for the mistreatment of detainees and there is no place for a perverted sense of loyalty that turns a blind eye to wrongdoing or erects a wall of silence to cover it up."

Referring to methods of "conditioning" suspects in Northern Ireland that were banned in 1972, Fox admitted that "there was a 'systemic failure' that allowed knowledge of the prohibition on abusive techniques made by the Heath government to be lost over the years".

Military prosecutors from the Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) will be responsible for examining any cases brought against those still in uniform. Despite suggestions that the Crown Prosecution Service will be asked to examine the fresh evidence in relation to those who have already left the army, a CPS spokeswoman said: "We are not aware of anything being referred to us."

Dan Leader, a solicitor with Leigh Day and Co, which represented some of the detainees, said: "The claimants are very clear they want accountability. We are talking about torture and murder. All that has happened is that someone has spent one year in prison. The claimants are concerned about criminal justice and feel let down so far."

In terms of immediate disciplinary action, Wall told the Guardian that "some soldiers have been suspended from operational duty and military service". More suspensions may follow. Only 14 of those referred to in the Gage report are still in the army.

So far £2.8m has been paid out by the Ministry of Defence in compensation to Mousa's relatives and the nine other Iraqi detainees held in Basra between 14 and 16 September 2003.

The solicitor Phil Shiner, of Public Interest Lawyers, renewed his call for a wider inquiry into allegations about how British troops treated detainees in southern Iraq between 2003 and 2009.

"There is a case called Ali Zaki Mousa," Shiner said, "currently before the court of appeal that will determine whether the UK should fulfil its legal obligations by holding an extended inquiry into 150 additional complaints by Iraqi civilians."

Mousa's father, Daoud Mousa, was not in Britain for the report's publication but is due to deliver a lecture in memory of his son in London next week.

The MoD signalled that it would not accept one of Gage's recommendations, namely that "harshing" – shouting at detainees to intimidate them – should be abandoned. A test case about the technique, which the MoD defends, is due to come before the courts soon.

The General Medical Council declined to comment on the forthcoming hearing into Keilloh but Peter Jennings, press secretary for the archdiocese of Birmingham, said of the criticism of Madden: "The Catholic church takes this matter extremely seriously.

"The archbishop, the Most Rev Bernard Longley, and the vicar-general of the archdiocese will be meeting with Fr Madden when he has had the opportunity to study carefully the full report and the criticisms of himself in the context of the report."

Amnesty International called for soldiers to be charged.

"Those responsible must be held accountable for their actions and brought swiftly to justice, including in criminal proceedings," said Nicola Duckworth, the organisation's Europe and central Asia director.

Priorities Questioned Over Defence Cuts

Nearly 2,000 armed services personnel are learning that their jobs are to disappear today.

At least half of the 920 Army jobs and 930 RAF roles are expected to face compulsory redundancies in the first round of defence cuts.












RAF pilots prepare for a mission over Libya.

The Gurkhas face the heaviest cuts, with 140 soldiers facing redundancy. No service personnel currently receiving the operational allowance will be forced to leave, however.

"Just as many RAF personnel will be thinking about returning home having performed heroics in Libya, ministers are drawing up their P45s," shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said.

"People will be shocked and will wonder whether the government have got their priorities straight."

The defence cuts follow an eight per cent overall reduction in the MoD's budget in the comprehensive spending review.

Broader financial problems have forced defence secretary Liam Fox to seek a more fundamental rationalising of his department, leading to plans for over 22,000 jobs to go in total by 2015.

"The tough measures will bring the budget largely into balance for the first time in a generation," Mr Fox said.

"Extra money allocated for the equipment budget from 2015 will allow capability to grow in the second half of the decade."

The slow-burning nature of the cuts makes them politically sensitive, however. Around 1,600 redundancies in the Royal Navy are expected to be announced next month.

"This underlines the scale of the government's cuts in manpower. The frontline cannot be protected from cuts this deep," Mr Murphy added.

"Savings must be made, but in a world of uncertainty to many this will seem a worrying loss of important capability."

British Army Faces Further Inquiries Into Alleged Abuse Of Iraqi Prisoners

Other torture allegations remain to be heard after army cleared of systemic abuse in Baha Mousa case.












The British army faces further inquiries into its treatment of prisoners in Iraq. Above, Al-Ma'aqal prison in Basra, 2004.

The Baha Mousa report is not the only one to look into the question of the "systemic" abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

A second inquiry is to open later this year, examining disputed allegations that up to 20 men were tortured and murdered in British custody after a gun battle in southern Iraq in 2004.

That inquiry became inevitable after the high court severely criticised the Royal Military Police's investigation into the affair and said that courts should be wary of evidence given by the RMP's second in command.

The court of appeal is currently considering whether to order a third inquiry, into the military's entire detention and interrogation policy, after hearing arguments on behalf of more than 150 men who allege they were systematically tortured by the British army in south-east Iraq between 2003 and 2008.

The complaints include 59 allegations of detainees being hooded, 11 of electric shocks, 122 of sound deprivation through the use of ear muffs, 52 of sleep deprivation, 131 of sight deprivation using blackened goggles, 39 of enforced nakedness and 18 of being kept awake by pornographic DVDs played on laptops.

The Ministry of Defence's lawyers have conceded that the individual allegations "raise an arguable case of breach of Article 3" of the European convention on human rights, which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. But, in its attempts to persuade the courts that a third inquiry is not needed, the MoD has set up a team of 80 investigators, half of them former civilian detectives, to examine the allegations.

The Iraq historic allegations team (Ihat) is now scouring MoD records, including hundreds of video recordings of military interrogations, and interviewing the complainants.

Many of the complaints centre on a secretive Intelligence Corps facility known as the joint forces interrogation team, or JFIT. Already, three men who served at the JFIT have been referred to the director of service prosecutions, who has been asked to consider war crimes charges under the 2001 International Criminal Court Act.

Nine other deaths in British military custody are also being re-examined.

Analysis: Defence Cuts In The Firing Line

Those in Westminster are fond of describing this or that report from a select committee as "damning" in its criticism of government policy.












On this occasion, it's deserved because the defence committee has essentially driven a coach and horses through the coalition's defence of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Maligned since its birth as driven more by cuts than capabilities, the Government has invested a huge amount of political capital in sticking firm to the controversial decisions made in last autumn's review.

The cuts will not affect our ability to defend ourselves and others, ministers claimed. Not so, says the committee.

It claims that post-2015 the Armed Forces will not be able to do all that is required of them, and there is mounting concern that they are already over-stretched.














The cuts ensure future projects, such as the new aircraft carrier and Joint Strike Fighter, can be completed, according to the Government.

The committee say uncertainty as to funding post-2015 combined with commitment to the Libyan campaign means a promised real-terms increase in the MoD's budget is "government aspiration, not government policy".

Even the PM gets it in the neck. His assurance of "full spectrum" defence capability is dismissed.

Phew. Talk about being in the line of fire.

The simple fact is that decisions taken in the heat of battle are often life or death. The decisions taken in the defence review are scarcely less significant.

And the accusation that the parallel cross-governmental Spending Review was as significant, if not more so, than the UK's strategic safety, is bound to lend further weight to calls for a reopening of the SDSR.

But will those calls be heeded?

After all, these criticisms have been made before - as has the MoD's defence of its position.

And the report has been released mid-week during the Parliamentary recess.

There will undoubtedly be anger, but it is unlikely to prompt a radical rethink - for now at least. However, there is growing concern within the coalition itself.

Plenty on the government benches have looked on with horror as Britain's Armed Forces have been reduced to a shadow of their former selves.

Several MPs are planning a push on the issue during party conference season, so it would be unwise to think this the end of the matter and simply a bad news day the Government must endure and then forget.

There will inevitably be calls for the defence review to be reopened. After all, good military strategy is both flexible and adaptive.

The defence committee has concluded the SDSR is neither.

David Cameron Insists Huge Armed Forces Cut Is Modernisation

David Cameron has defended the decision to make 11,000 redundancies in the UK armed forces — potentially including some troops now on the frontline in Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister conceded that axing around 5,000 personnel from the Army, 3,300 from |the Navy and 2,700 from the |RAF would be “difficult” for those affected.













But he insisted the losses were necessary to “modernise and update” Britain's forces for future challenges.

Labour criticised the Government for announcing details of the cuts at the same time Mr Cameron has been suggesting the RAF could help enforce a no-fly zone over Libya.

Last autumn's Strategic Defence and Security Review set out plans for reducing the size of the Armed Forces by 17,000 in total.

Some of that number will be met by not replacing people who were retiring or leaving for other reasons.

But defence officials disclosed that 11,000 personnel still face being made redundant on a compulsory or voluntary basis.

Commodore Jonathan Woodcock told a briefing for journalists that the first tranche would be notified whether they were being made redundant in September.

No-one serving in Afghanistan at that time will be eligible to lose their jobs, but virtually all personnel currently serving in the country could be included, he said.

The reductions are due to be fully achieved by April 2015.

The Ministry of Defence stressed the changes would have “no impact on current operations”.













In the wake of media leaks that trainee pilots were being laid off, and the accidental sacking of soldiers serving in Afghanistan by email, Defence Secretary Liam Fox also promised that reductions would be handled with “sensitivity and care”.

No-one who is deployed on operations, preparing to deploy on operations, or recently returned from operations will be considered for redundancy unless they volunteer. Those recovering from injury will also be exempt.

However, Commodore |Woodcock confirmed that personnel currently serving in Afghanistan would be eligible, as almost all will have completed their tour by September.

Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said: “This is incredible. At the same time as planning a no-fly zone over Libya the Tory-led Government chooses today of all days to sack RAF personnel. The pilots will be stunned and the country will be confused.

“These are the very same people who would help enforce no-fly zones. The Government is losing its way on defence.”

However, Mr Cameron laid the blame on mismanagement by the former Labour Government.

“These were incredibly difficult decisions, but we had an inheritance of a defence budget that was overspent by £38bn and where decisions had been put off and put off and we were not modernising and updating our armed forces so they were able to cope with the modern challenges they were going to have to meet,” he said.

“We did not take any of these decisions lightly.”

Cameron Vents His Frustration At Military Commanders - Again

The Prime Minister said that he wished they would stick to fighting - and leave him to do the talking

Downing Street's evident irritation at the way senior military commanders keep speaking their mind, rather than parroting the party line from No10, became more pronounced today at a press briefing.













David Cameron said:

"There are moments when I wake up and read the newspapers and think: 'I tell you what, you do the fighting and I'll do the talking'."

Quite. This has had defence officials guffawing all over Whitehall.

Cameron spoke out after the Daily Telegraph was leaked a briefing paper from Air Chief Marshall Sir Simon Bryant, which said that the service was "running hot" and that it would struggle to meet any extra challenges if the Libya operation continued beyond the summer.

He also said that morale in the RAF was very low. It probably plunged a little further over the weekend, when its officers read the report in the Sunday Times that suggested Downing Street was considering proposals to slash the RAF by even more than the 5,000 personnel set out in last year's Strategic Defence and Security Review.

No wonder someone thought of leaking Sir Simon's private thoughts. The First Sea Lord Sir Mark Stanhope made similar remarks last week.

The problem for Cameron is that, however much he sticks his fingers in his ears, there is genuine anxiety within the armed forces about the government's commitment to the military, and how they re expected to cope in the near future.

The Prime Minister is right to say that the Libya operation can continue indefinitely. But Stanhope and Bryant are also right to point out that something else will have to give in the longterm.

And so the argument goes round and round...

The defence select committee will have a chance to get to nub of the problem tomorrow afternoon when General Sir David Richards, chief of the Defence staff, and the Armed Forces minister Nick Harvey, are quizzed by MPs.