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Doubt cast on Iraq torture photos


The paper claims British soldiers handed over the photos
Sources close to the army have questioned the authenticity of photographs appearing to show British soldiers torturing an Iraqi prisoner.
An investigation has begun into claims British troops assaulted the prisoner before throwing him from a lorry.

The claims were made in the Daily Mirror which carried photos allegedly taken during the man's ordeal.

Tony Blair says that if the photos are authentic this is "completely and totally unacceptable".

However the BBC's defence correspondent Paul Adams says sources close to The Queen's Lancashire Regiment believe many aspects of the photographs are suspicious.

He says they believe the pictures may not have even been taken in Iraq.


They believe the rifle is an SA80 mk 1 - which was not issued to troops in Iraq.

They say soldiers in Iraq wore berets or hard hats - and not floppy hats as in the photos.

They also believe the wrong type of Bedford truck is shown in the background - a type never deployed in Iraq.
Mr Blair said if there had been any abuse it was "exceptional", and should not detract from the good work being done by UK armed forces in Iraq.

However he stressed if the photos were genuine it was totally unacceptable.

"We went to Iraq to get rid of that sort of thing, not to do it," he added.

Investigation

Military police are investigating the photos which appear to show a soldier using violence and urinating on a captive.

Pictures showing American troops humiliating Iraqi prisoners, with a hooded and naked prisoner standing on a box with wires attached to his genitals, also generated outrage earlier this week.

US President George W Bush vowed that those responsible would be "taken care of".

There is no place in our regiment for individuals capable of such appalling and sickening behaviour

The Queen's Lancashire Regiment


Military shaken by torture probe
Arab media fury
Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram said there was no "culture of abuse" in the British Army despite the fact five separate inquiries into maltreatment are under way.

"If these allegations are true, they are appalling, they are despicable and there can be no justification for them at all," he said.

The inquiry by the Royal Military Police's Special Investigations Branch would "not leave any stone unturned", he added.

Unnamed captive

The Mirror says the pictures were handed over by British soldiers from The Queen's Lancashire Regiment who claimed a rogue element in the army was responsible for abusing prisoners and civilians.

The soldiers told the paper no charges were brought against the unnamed captive.

They allege that during his eight-hour ordeal he was threatened with execution, his jaw broken and his teeth smashed.


The images have already been seen in the Middle East
After being beaten and urinated on, he was driven away and dumped, 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 resistance in Iraq.

Army spokesman Roger Goodwin, on behalf of The Queen's Lancashire Regiment, said there was "clearly some form of link to the regiment".

"But the precise form of that link, including whether the soldiers involved in the alleged atrocities were members of the QLR, needs to be established.

He added: "There is no place in our regiment for individuals capable of such appalling and sickening behaviour.

"The sooner they are exposed and ejected from the regiment, the better."

The regimental secretary, retired Lt Col John Downham, said: "We are furious that these people, whoever they turn out to be, have already besmirched our hard-earned good name and let down the many hundreds of QLR soldiers whose outstandingly successful tour in Basra was recognised by no fewer than 21 honours and awards."

Sir Mike Jackson, Chief of General Staff, said: "If proven, the perpetrators are not fit to wear the Queen's uniform and they have besmirched the Army's good name and conduct."