Probes into Iraq deaths double

Fresh controversy over the actions of British troops in Iraq broke out today after the Ministry of Defence admitted the number of investigations into civilian deaths and injuries was more than double that previously announced.

Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram revealed that 75 military investigations had been launched and not 33 as stated by Tony Blair, Geoff Hoon and himself to the Commons in recent weeks. The Prime Minister faced calls to appear before MPs to explain the discrepancy amid allegations that he and his fellow ministers had misled Parliament.

At the height of the row over prisoner abuse at Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib jail, the Prime Minister, Defence Secretary and Mr Ingram had all told the Commons that 33 cases of alleged British abuse had been probed by the Service Investigation Police.

Today Mr Ingram admitted a "detailed verification exercise" had since found that figure "failed to incorporate details of investigations from all branches of the Service Police".

He said that of the total, 23 were still in progress, 31 concluded with no further-action and seven were pending a decision to prosecute. None of the new cases related to detention.

"The correct number of investigations into civilian deaths, injuries or alleged ill-treatment undertaken at 4 May was 61. We have initiated a further 14 investigations since. These new investigations can principally be attributed to the high operational tempo over the last month and a small

number of new allegations made by Iraqi civilians relating to earlier incidents," Mr Ingram said.

Sir Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, said: "The Government must clear up these apparent contradictions. This is a matter of sufficient importance to bring the Prime Minister to the House of Commons to make a statement."

The Government earlier admitted for the first time it failed to prepare properly for the aftermath of the Iraq war.

In response to a scathing report from the Commons Defence Select Committee, ministers conceded they "underestimated" the scale of the collapse of the Iraqi army and police in the wake of Saddam Hussein's fall last April. They also accepted they had not been prepared for the uprisings and breakdown of Iraq's government machinery.