Hoon – Truck in Daily Mirror pictures was not a British military vehicle
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has this afternoon promised to deal with any British soldier found to have been abusing prisoners in Iraq – but he has also reported to MPs that the vehicle shown in the Daily Mirror’s pictures allegedly depicting violence by British troops against captured Iraqis is not of a type used by UK forces in Iraq.
Delivering a statement in the House of Commons this afternoon, Mr Hoon told MPs that the Special Investigations Branch (SIB) has stated that the Bedford Army vehicle seen in the photos published by the paper was not of a type used in the war in Iraq.
In his statement, the Secretary of State went on to outline the broad overview of the current situation in Iraq, setting out that there have been more than 100 engagements with insurgents resulting in 11 British soldiers were injured over the weekend.
Mr Hoon described those fighting against British and American soldiers in Iraq as being “thugs not freedom fighters.” In further assessment of the serious nature of the situation on the ground, he stressed that “further violence cannot be ruled out in the coming days.”
Concerning the allegations of abuse, he stated that if they were found to be true, those responsible would be “rooted out and dealt with.” The actions of a very small few must not be allowed to overshadow the actions of the many, Mr Hoon contended, confirming that British troops are required at all times to comply with international law.
He noted that 15 allegations of abuse had already been resolved without there being any case to answer and an additional 6 still under investigation. In relation to all of them, however, Mr Hoon confirmed that none of those cases under investigation had been triggered by the media.
Mr Hoon confirmed that the Armed Forces Minister, Adam Ingram, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had met last May and had a further meeting last month. The ICRC has claimed that it had warned the Government about alleged abuse of prisoners, but had received no response.
The ICRC’s reports were kept confidential, Mr Hoon explained, because the ICRC itself suggested that there was no interest in exposing prisoners to the world. On the routine hooding of prisoners, he stated that concerns had been raised and the practice had been stopped in September last year.
Wrapping up the statement, he welcomed the completion of a new detention camp in Iraq, which had been welcomed by the ICRC.
Concluding, he drew attention to the Amnesty International reports of alleged torture as have been outlined in the press today and noted as a response that the Government has taken a thorough trawl of operations within Iraq since March to discover any evidence of abuse.
