Senior British army commanders in Iraq refused to investigate hundreds of cases of abuse against Iraqi civilians that led to serious injury or even death, a former member of the Royal Military Police has claimed.
The former Red Cap investigator alleged that some of the worst cases had been covered up and that the interests of the military had taken precedence over the interests of justice.
It has been claimed previously that top commanders in Iraq ruled out calling in the RMP in cases where it was judged that deaths or injuries involving Iraqi civilians could not be directly attributed to British military action.
However, the new allegations, made by a former member of the RMP in an interview with Donal MacIntyre on BBC Radio 5 Live last night, could reignite the question of the treatment of detainees and the conduct of soldiers during the campaign against Shia militia extremists in southern Iraq between 2003 and 2007.
The Army is already facing embarrassing revelations during the public inquiry into the death of Baha Musa, the Iraqi hotel receptionist who died in British military custody after 36 hours of mistreatment in September 2003. Last week Dean Liggins, formerly of the 1st Battalion The Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, which had arrested and detained Mr Musa, said that it was standard practice for detainees to be hooded, despite this having been banned in 1972. Mr Musa’s head was covered in double hessian sacks for his time in custody, when temperatures reached 50C.
The RMP investigator said that the force had been out of its depth in Iraq. “I’ve seen documentary evidence that there were incidents running into the hundreds involving death and serious injury to Iraqis in the last six or seven years where the chain of command of the Army had decided that the circumstances did not warrant a Royal Military Police investigation . . . and it’s of great concern that among those there will have been undoubtedly suspicious deaths and serious injuries that were never properly investigated,” he said.
He alleged that the military chain of command made it difficult for the RMP to operate independently by not providing resources or denying access to prevent investigations. Investigators who failed to toe the party line would be overlooked for promotion and receive an “adverse report”.
Referring to Mr Musa’s case, he said: “It was a murder investigation on a plate . . . and amazingly this investigation was closed down or put in the waiting tray for a whole year.
“The whole system of military justice is flawed . . . and there is a very high risk there are other Baha Musas out there because of the number of incidents not investigated at all by the Royal Military Police, let alone an ineffective investigation,” he said.
In response, Lord Goldsmith, said that several cases had been brought to his attention during his time as Attorney-General: “I was concerned that the chain of command was interfering with investigations, was blocking investigations that should take place”.
Referring to the anonymous whistleblower, he added: “What he has been saying about the structural issues of the Royal Military Police . . . frankly do chime with concerns I had during the time I was Attorney-General.”
After a series of courts martial involving alleged mistreatment of Iraqi detainees that led to deaths — most of which ended in acquittals — Brigadier Robert Aitken, director of army personnel strategy, was commissioned to carry out a review of all allegations. He concluded that there was no systemic abuse by the Army in Iraq.
After the latest allegations, the Ministry of Defence said: “The RMP is subject to exhaustive inspection by bodies such as Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary. This provides the assurance that the RMP has the capability, capacity and competence to conduct investigations into serious crime. Over 100,000 of our personnel served in Iraq and, with the exception of a few individuals, they have performed to the highest standards under extraordinarily testing conditions.”
The unnamed former RMP man claimed: “There’s a catalogue of blunders, mistakes, ineptitude and the course of investigations being bent to serve the real or perceived interests of the chain of command of the Army.”
It was reported last night that the Government was planning to cut 900 jobs from the MoD Police. The force is responsible for guarding nuclear sites.
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