BRITAIN: Downing Street, the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office were mired in controversy last night over alleged ministerial neglect of Red Cross and Amnesty International reports on the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
The Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, admitted ministers should have seen the "confidential" report from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) before the media storm broke last week. However, yesterday Defence Secretary Mr Geoff Hoon was battling to contain a growing sense of crisis following Amnesty's publication of its report claiming British troops shot dead eight Iraqi civilians - including an eight-year-old girl - when they posed no apparent threat.
At the same time, Number 10 was refusing to say whether the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, was aware, even in general terms, of the alleged abuse by American jailers before his meeting with President Bush in Washington last month.
The issue seems set to explode afresh in the House of Commons this afternoon when Mr Blair faces questions from the Conservative leader, Mr Michael Howard, amid growing pressure on the Armed Forces minister, Mr Adam Ingram, to apologise to MPs for having told them last week he had received no adverse reports about the conduct of British forces in Iraq.
Amnesty has said it sent a dossier on alleged abuses to the Ministry of Defence last November and received an acknowledgement from Mr Ingram.
The Conservative shadow defence secretary, Mr Nicholas Soames, insisted: "I don't think anyone who heard what he [Mr Ingram] said last week could tie that up with what Amnesty said And if indeed Amnesty are correct in what they say, I'm very much afraid to say that I think Adam Ingram may have materially misled the House of Commons."
Mr Hoon appeared to concede that Mr Ingram might need to clarify his position while he resisted Amnesty's demand for an independent civilian-led investigation into all the alleged unlawful killings in Iraq.
Amnesty's UK director Kate Allen said there were 37 cases of Iraqi civilians being killed, while only 18 had been investigated. "Killings by UK forces, in situations where they should not be using lethal force, are examined in secrecy and behind closed doors," she said on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
In a separate development yesterday, the High Court ruled that relatives of 12 Iraqis allegedly killed by UK troops will get a full court hearing into the decision not to hold independent inquiries. The hearing will start on July 28th.