UK condemns 'vile' abuse

2004-05-01 21:55

London - A claim that British troops brutally beat an Iraqi prisoner ignited a new furore Saturday over the apparent abuse of Iraqis held by US-led occupation forces.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair condemned such mistreatment, if proved, as "completely and utterly unacceptable", while the defence ministry launched an urgent probe.

The reaction by the authorities was prompted by photographs published in Britain's mass-circulation Daily Mirror apparently showing troops abusing an Iraqi in a camp near Basra.

"If there has been any abuse, I believe it to be exceptional, but that doesn't make it any the less unacceptable," Blair said in Dublin, where he was among European leaders attending EU enlargement celebrations.

"We went to Iraq to get rid of that type of thing, not to do it."

General Sir Michael Jackson, the British army's chief of general staff said that the allegations were under investigation.

"If proven, the perpetrators are not fit to wear the queen's uniform. They have besmirched the good name of the army and its honour," Jackson said.

The furore came after pictures showing US soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners drew condemnation from international leaders.

Heavy-handed

Critics in Britain have previously slammed the United States for what they see as its heavy-handed approach in Iraq, contrasting it with the efforts of British troops to win the hearts and minds of Iraqi people.

"Vile, but this time it's a British soldier degrading an Iraqi," said the Daily Mirror's headline on a front page dominated by a photograph of a man in army uniform appearing to urinate on a bound captive who had a bag over his head.

Further pictures inside appeared to show a soldier jabbing the man - who was picked up for suspected theft - in the groin with a rifle, and the prisoner lying on the floor with a soldier's boot on his head.

The Daily Mirror - the strongest voice of opposition to the Iraq war among the British press - said that the prisoner, aged 18-20, was savagely beaten before being thrown from a moving truck. His fate is not known.

The tabloid said it was given the pictures by serving soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, one of whom was among the attackers.

We're fighting a losing war

One of the soldiers quoted anonymously by the newspaper said: "We're not helping ourselves out there. We're never going to get the Iraqis on our side. We're fighting a losing war."

Britain's armed forces minister Adam Ingram told BBC radio Saturday: "If these allegations are true, they are appalling, they are despicable and there is no justification for them at all."

The defence ministry confirmed that, prior to the latest claims, British troops had already been investigated over a total of 10 allegations of torture and cruelty towards Iraqi prisoners.

- AFP