MPs to grill Mirror editor

2004-05-06 07:13

London - The editor of the Daily Mirror is to be called before members of parliament over photos in his newspaper purporting to show British troops abusing an Iraqi prisoner, a parliamentary committee said Wednesday.

The House of Commons Defence Select Committee said it wanted Piers Morgan to respond to MPs' questions about the photos, which his tabloid - one of the most widely read in Britain - published over the weekend.

The British government vowed on Tuesday that it would "leave no stone unturned" as it investigates the allegations, directed at the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, and the authenticity of the photographs.

The Daily Mirror ran the "world exclusive" pictures on Saturday, three days after CBS television in the United States broadcast graphic images of US troops abusing naked Iraqi prisoners.

In a statement, the Defence Select Committee said: "We have decided that we will take an early opportunity to call the editor of the Daily Mirror to appear before us."

"This will give him a chance to substantiate his newspaper's allegations. It will enable us to satisfy ourselves whether he and his staff have acted responsibly in how they have handled this matter."

It added: "We will hold this session in the context of our already announced inquiry into the continuing operations in Iraq."

Urinating on a hooded man

Britain's defence ministry has launched its own investigation into the pictures, one of which allegedly depicts a British soldier --whose face was not visible - urinating on a hooded man.

In parliament on Tuesday, Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram said the Daily Mirror has turned over about 20 pictures to investigators.

Several experts have questioned the authenticity of the photos, pointing out that automatic rifles and floppy hats seen in them were not identical to those used by British troops in Iraq.

Moreover, the supposed prisoner - wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with an Iraqi flag - did not curl up into a foetal position, as experts say he naturally should have when threatened with a gun in the groin.

The Daily Mirror, owned by the Trinity Mirror publishing group, has a circulation of 1.9 million, and its editor is well-known in London media circles for relishing a high public profile.

- AFP