The British army is facing further allegations about its conduct in Iraq with the publication of a report claiming troops shot and killed civilians when they were under no apparent threat.
The victims were said to include an eight-year-old girl.
Amnesty International said "many" of the killings had not been investigated, while inquiries mounted by the Royal Military Police have been "secretive", with families given little or no information about their progress.
The allegations will increase the pressure on Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon, who yesterday prompted incredulity from some MPs when he told the Commons that ministers had not been shown a Red Cross report highlighting concerns about treatment of detainees in Iraq until the allegations surfaced in the press.
Mr Hoon sought to turn the spotlight onto the Daily Mirror- which sparked the furore over the behaviour of British troops - by saying that pictures which allegedly showed British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners appeared "increasingly like a hoax".
The newspaper's editor, Mr Piers Morgan, swiftly countered by issuing a statement in which he stressed that the paper does not accept that the government has proved the photographs are fakes.
Amnesty's Britain director, Ms Kate Allen, called for the introduction of independent, civilian-led inquiries into incidents involving Iraqi civilians.
"Killings by UK forces, in situations where they should not be using lethal force, are examined in secrecy and behind closed doors," she said.
"Instead of the army deciding whether to investigate itself when civilians are killed, there must be a full, impartial and civilian-led investigation into all allegations of killings by UK troops."
Amnesty's report details the case of eight-year-old Hanan Saleh Matrud, who was reportedly shot by a soldier of B Company of the 1st Battalion of the King's Regiment in August last year.
A witness told Amnesty's researchers that, rather than being hit accidentally by a warning shot as the army has said, Hanan was killed when a soldier aimed at her and fired a shot from around 60 metres.
PA