'New witness' in Iraq abuse claim

Piers Morgan says a soldier from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment has a dossier including claims of "appalling beatings" by a small "rogue element".

The Ministry of Defence confirmed the man had approached military police to discuss the claims.

Mr Morgan said a handful of soldiers, including corporals and sergeants, were thought to be to blame.


In an interview with the BBC, he said the soldier had detailed four separate incidents of beatings, and could name the people he believed were responsible.

The new claims come after Tony Blair branded any abuses "inexcusable".

And President George Bush has apologised for alleged mistreatment by US troops, saying he was "sickened" by photos shown in the American media.

Naming soldiers

Military experts have questioned the authenticity of the pictures of alleged abuse of an Iraqi by UK troops published in the Mirror over the weekend.

The MoD says there have been no arrests relating to those pictures.

But Mr Morgan says the photos highlight genuine abuse.


Mr Morgan has told BBC News the new witness, "Soldier C", was not involved in the photographed incident and cannot verify the pictures.

It is understood that the new soldier is not a member of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, but was a reservist with the Territorial Army, and was attached to the regiment while in Iraq.

And he has produced a "very disturbing dossier" detailing abuses on at least four separate occasions by "a rogue element of that regiment against Iraqi POW detainees", says Mr Morgan.

It includes claims of "appalling beatings" and names soldiers', "including corporals and sergeants and some senior officers who he says were culpable in tacitly allowing this to happen."

Victim's eyes

In one, a corporal placed a sandbag over a suspect's face and poked his fingers in the victim's eyes until he screamed with pain, "Soldier C" told the Mirror.

"I've seen the state of their faces when they took the sandbags off. Their noses were bent - they looked like haggises," he claimed.

Mr Morgan said: "He believes there are already on-going investigations into a number of people involved in this ring of 'bad apples' and that there will be automatic court martials following."

The editor says the abuse claims only centre on five or six soldiers whom the newspaper's new source believes "created a culture of fear and intimidation towards PoWs which went way beyond any guidelines".

"Soldier C" is now giving evidence to the military police investigation team at his own request, he says.

The Mirror has come under fire over the original abuse pictures but its editor says the issue is being trivialised by a "media firestorm" about his own position.

As far as he is concerned the pictures are "genuine images highlighting genuine incidents of abuse".

Mr Morgan refuses to say whether he would resign if the photos are proved to be fakes, saying: "I am not queasy or worried about them."

He also challenges the MoD to act on the allegations.

The newspaper has handed 20 photos to the military police officers who are investigating the claims.

Mr Morgan is already set to be questioned by MPs on the Commons defence select committee about the photos.

Tony Blair has said it would be "extremely serious" if the photos prove to be fake and promises the claims are being thoroughly investigated.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3691857.stm