BRITAIN: Britain has launched a high-level inquiry after photographs apparently showed British soldiers abusing an Iraqi detainee which British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair said, if true, would be "completely and totally unacceptable".
Foreign Secretary Mr Jack Straw said yesterday a high level investigation was under way, but sources close to the regiment concerned raised doubts over the authenticity of the images.
The Daily Mirror newspaper published five black and white photographs yesterday of British troops who it said were kicking, stamping and urinating on a hooded Iraqi in Basra, southern Iraq, where Britain has around 7,500 soldiers.
The newspaper's editor, Piers Morgan, said he stood by his story and the two unidentified soldiers in the Queen's Lancashire Regiment who provided the pictures had no doubts about their authenticity.
"They stand fully behind every word of their story, rebutting every question raised and they also stand by the complete veracity of the photographs," he said in a statement.
The images were published days after pictures of US troops abusing Iraqi prisoners provoked anger around the world.
"There is a very high level investigation taking place. These allegations are being taken extremely seriously," Straw told BBC Television.
The Ministry of Defence said the photographs had been given to the military police's Special Investigations Branch to begin an inquiry. "The allegations are terrible," Straw said.
But the BBC quoted sources close to the regiment as saying aspects of the photographs were suspicious. They said the type of rifle and the floppy hats pictured were not used by troops in Iraq, and the type of truck shown in the background had not been deployed there.
The Sunday Telegraph said six junior officers of the regiment were being questioned at a British base in Cyprus and could be charged within 48 hours. The Ministry of Defence would not confirm that report.
The images come at a difficult time for Mr Blair, who is considering sending more troops to Iraq to plug the hole left by the withdrawal of Spanish soldiers.
His staunch support for US policy in Iraq has been a hard sell to a sceptical British public.
Human rights group Amnesty International said it had warned US and UK authorities in Iraq that captives were being abused.
The British army is investigating eight soldiers accused of abusing Iraqi prisoners, and the US army has brought criminal charges against six soldiers relating to abuses from November and December 2003 on 20 detainees. - (Reuters)