Pressure mounted on British Prime Minister Tony Blair today over allegations British troops abused Iraqi prisoners, with politicians demanding to know what action the government took over reports of mistreatment.
Hounded by members of all parties, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon agreed to make a statement to the House of Commons tomorrow.
He will face a grilling after the government said the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had raised concerns with it over the treatment of British-held prisoners in February, months before the abuse scandal erupted in the press.
The ICRC said on Friday that visits to detention centres in Iraq last year revealed infringements of international treaties on prisoners of war that it said were "tantamount to torture".
The alleged abuse was mainly inflicted by US troops, the ICRC said, but it had also alerted London to concerns about the treatment of prisoners in British-run jails.
Former foreign secretary Robin Cook of Blair's Labour Party urged the government today to publish the ICRC report.
"Until they do, really we cannot see what independent people are saying about the problem and how severe it is," Mr Cook told BBC Television.
The Ministry of Defence said the ICRC report was confidential and that it had acted on the recommendations.
The behaviour of British troops in Iraq hit the headlines last week after The Mirror newspaper published photographs apparently showing soldiers urinating on a prisoner and beating him.
Their authenticity has been questioned but The Mirror on Friday published evidence from a soldier who said he had witnessed savage beatings of Iraqis. Other allegations of abuse have also emerged in the media.