MoD could be sued over Iraqi's death

The father of a young Iraqi allegedly beaten to death by British soldiers has instructed one of Britain's top law firms to sue the Ministry of Defence.

Daoud Mousa, a police colonel from Basra, says he wants justice in the UK after his son Baha died in British custody last September.

The soldiers in question are thought to be members of the Queens' Lancashire Regiment, the unit now accused in a separate incident of beating and urinating on an Iraqi prisoner.

According to a British Army death certificate, Baha, 26, died of "asphyxia". When Mr Mousa was shown the body he says it was covered in severe bruises and burn marks.

He has now instructed lawyers from Leigh Day and Co, which specialises in human rights claims. Baha Mousa, a receptionist at Ibn Al Haitham hotel, Basra, was arrested in a dawn raid there last September by troops looking for weapons.