As the government pledges to leave "no stone unturned" in its investigation into photographs apparently showing British soldiers abusing Iraqi captives, the BBC‘s defence correspondent Paul Adams takes a closer look at how the inquiry is likely to proceed.
Q: Are the alleged abuses in the Daily Mirror photos the only claims about the behaviour of UK troops being investigated?
A: No, they‘re not.
The armed forces minister, Adam Ingram, confirmed on Tuesday that 33 cases of civilian deaths, injuries or mistreatment at the hands of British soldiers have or are being investigated by the Royal Military Police (RMP).
In 15 of these, he said, there was no case to answer.
Six of the cases were "pending further action", which means they‘re in the hands of the Army Prosecution Authority (APA).
But human rights lawyers say the true number of cases of abuse is much higher.
Q: Do we know the details of the other claims?
A: Some.
The case currently thought most likely to result in a court-martial also involves members of the Queen‘s Lancashire Regiment and centres around the death in custody of a Basra hotel worker, Baha Musa, who, it is alleged, was beaten to death by British soldiers last September.
Another case that has also reached the APA concerns a soldier from 1st Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, arrested shortly after the war ended on suspicion of taking photographs of Iraqi prisoners being abused.
Q: When are we going to find out the results of all these various inquiries - aren‘t there some complaints that they are taking too long?
A: The Ministry of Defence is not able to predict how long the investigations will last.
Adam Ingram, speaking in the House of Commons, defended the Special Investigations Branch of the RMP, saying much of the criticism was unfair.
They were, he said, carrying out "detailed work in difficult and dangerous circumstances".
But the fact remains that a year after the war ended, no charges have yet been levelled at any British soldiers.
Q: So who actually judges the cases and how much do we get to hear about the whole process?
The RMP conduct the investigations and make recommendations to the Army Prosecution Service.
We don‘t hear anything about the process, but this is not unlike civilian police procedures.
Q: What penalties will the British troops face if they are convicted of the mistreatment claims?
A court-martial is the consequence for anyone deemed to have committed an offence.
Punishments can then range from dismissal from the army to jail terms.
Q: How likely is it that Iraqis could take their claims through the British courts or any other legal processes?
A: Without the help of British lawyers, this will be very difficult indeed.
On Wednesday, papers concerning 12 separate cases of alleged unlawful killings by British soldiers are to be lodged at the High Court by human rights lawyers.
They‘re calling for an independent inquiry as they don‘t agree with the MoD‘s argument that the RMP/APA process is independent.
They argue that the European Convention on Human Rights should apply to cases that occur in territory under British control.
Again, that‘s not an argument that the MoD accepts
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/wear/3684573.stm
