British troops accused of abuse to be fully investigated

A man has been arrested by the Military police after abuse allegations made in the News of the World, which published pictures from a video it claimed was shot in southern Iraq in 2004.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said he was detained on Sunday night, and at least three soldiers are understood to have been identified by the Royal Military Police Investigators.

The army investigators believe they are close to identifying the remaining soldiers and they hope to make more arrests soon.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said the claims will "be investigated" and "the majority of UK troops do a great job for our country and for the wider world".

The tape shows what appear to be British soldiers head-butting, kicking and clubbing unarmed Iraqi teenagers, and an unidentified cameraman is laughing and taunting the victims.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari has called for a swift investigation into the allegations and for those responsible to be brought to justice.

In a statement, the Adjutant General's Chief of Staff, Brigadier Martin Routledge, said: "The images in this video amount to very serious allegations. We can confirm they are now the subject of an urgent Royal Military Police investigation. They are disturbing images. We condemn all acts of abuse and brutality and always treat any allegations of wrongdoing by our personnel extremely seriously."

The News of the World said the video was taken by a British army corporal and provided by a "disgusted whistle-blower" after it circulated on a base in Europe.

Brigadier Routledge continued: "The most important thing is that we now establish the facts. No-one can or should say anything that prejudices the due process of law and you will appreciate that it is therefore not appropriate to comment any further while this investigation is going on."

(CD)