New torture row

Two devastating reports today put the Government under massive pressure over allegations of torture by British forces in Iraq.

A Red Cross report details "systematic" abuse and reveals that British soldiers stamped on the neck of an Iraqi prisoner who died in their custody.

Tomorrow a report from Amnesty International will set out allegations of abuse by UK troops described by people who have seen it as "the worst yet".

The human rights organisation has already plunged the Ministry of

Defence into crisis by disclosing a dossier it sent to Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon almost a year ago. This is said to have listed a series of alleged abuses by British forces in the immediate aftermath of the war.

Mr Hoon now faces serious questions over when he knew the full extent of claims that British soldiers had brutalised Iraqi prisoners.

The details of one of the worst cases of torture were disclosed in a Red Cross report leaked today. It described how Baha Baoudsalim Mousa, 28 - a father of two - was beaten while in custody at Basra and later died.

He was one of nine men arrested by soldiers allegedly from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment at a Basra hotel last September.

"Following their arrest, the nine men were made to kneel, face and hands against the ground, as if in a prayer position," said the report. "The soldiers stamped on the back of the neck of those raising their head. They confiscated their money without issuing a receipt.

"The suspects were taken to Al Hakimiya, a former office previously used by the mukhabarat ( Saddam's secret police) in Basra and then beaten severely by CF ( coalition forces) troops."

Mr Mousa was heard by his friends "screaming and asking for assistance". Up to six soldiers could face charges. An Army death certificate said he had died from asphyxiation.

Mr Mousa's family has received an interim payment of £1,875 from the British government over his death. His father Daoud Mousa said the MoD had offered $8,000 in compensation in total but he wanted £8million. "Eight thousand dollars is nothing, not even compensation for a dog in London," he said.

The Red Cross report claims other prisoners in Iraq were beaten, stripped naked and burned by coalition troops in a pattern of mistreatment designed to extract confessions and information. Damningly, it says it delivered warnings, in writing and verbally, to leaders of the coalition forces during 2003 but continued to hear about new cases. Abuse of prisoners, its report suggested, "might be considered a practice tolerated by the CF".

Its findings were backed today by Amnesty International which revealed the contents of a dossier sent to Mr Hoon in May 2003 setting out allegations beatings by British troops.

In a memorandum sent to Mr Hoon and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw it alleges incidents including:

An Iraqi man taken to a temporary holding centre where he was kicked repeatedly and had his head banged against a wall so badly that he lost consciousness for three days.

A 17-year-old labourer who was beaten on his body and back with a rifle butt, had his nose broken and was move to a military holding centre where a Kuwaiti interpreter working for the UK military interrogated him and threatened him with electric shock torture.

A 30-year-old who was made to lie in the street and kicked, punched and beaten with rifle butts for 10 minutes before being taken to a camp where he was hooded and beaten all night.

Four men who were beaten up in the street by soldiers, had their money stolen and were then taken into custody where "sporadic" beatings continued until they were released days later.

Two men had their noses broken and lost teeth during beatings at the hands of British soldiers.

The human rights group also raised concerns at the death of Iraqi Radi Nu'ma, who died in custody within hours of being arrested.

At the time of the memo sent to the MoD and Foreign Office, the organisation said the death may not have been suspicious but had to be investigated. Mr Nu'ma supposedly suffered a heart attack after being arrested by military police. British soldiers later gave a letter to his family which said: "Radi Nu'ma suffered a heart attack while we were asking him questions about his son. We took him to the military hospital. For further information, go to the hospital."

Amnesty said today that it had sent a second memorandum to the MoD in July 2003 detailing concerns over deaths in custody. Amnesty said it received a reply from Mr Hoon which acknowl --edged responsibility for prisoners of war and said 4,000 had been handed over to US forces. Amnesty's memorandum is set to be backed up tomorrow by their report which will outline further abuses. A source said it would be "worse than anything yet seen" and added: "It will be politically very difficult for the Government to deal with."

The astonishing contents of the Red Cross document have created political shockwaves in both London and Washington. The findings were passed to the British and American governments in February but kept from the public.

The political crisis for Tony Blair immediately intensified, with Downing Street insisting the Prime Minister and other senior ministers did not read the Red Cross report until the media row over prisoner abuse erupted. The new disclosures left a question mark over the future of Armed Forces minister Adam Ingram, who told the Commons last week he had received "no adverse or other reports" detailing abuse.

In the Commons, the heat was on Mr Hoon, forced to make an emergency statement to MPs to admit who knew what and when over the catalogue of mistreatment.

Amnesty International said it was "amazed" the Government was saying it did not know of the problems.

Mr Blair earlier said he would not object to the Red Cross report being published, but would not release it himself. Within two hours the full report was leaked on the internet.

The military has paid out £72,000 in compensation to 22 Iraqi families to settle abuse claims, the Ministry of Defence confirmed today. Downing Street insisted senior ministers, including Mr Blair and Mr Hoon, had been in the dark about the extent of criticism.

It added that a separate Red Cross report last month had made "no significant" criticisms of one of the main UK detention centres at Shaibah, near Basra. Some 33 cases of alleged abuse had been reported, of which 15 were found to have no case to answer and inquiries into 12 were continuing. Only six were being considered for further action.