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| Public inquiry into Iraqi's death | Public inquiry into Iraqi's death |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| A UK public inquiry will be held into the death of Iraqi civilian Baha Mousa, the government has announced. | |
| Mr Mousa died while in British Army detention after being taken into custody in Basra in September 2003. | |
| Defence Secretary Des Browne told MPs an inquiry "will reassure the public that we are leaving no stone unturned in investigating his tragic death". | Defence Secretary Des Browne told MPs an inquiry "will reassure the public that we are leaving no stone unturned in investigating his tragic death". |
| Lawyers for Mr Mousa's relatives said other alleged cases of manslaughter and torture should also be examined. | |
| Mr Mousa, a hotel receptionist, died after being taken into custody. | |
| His post-mortem examination showed he suffered asphyxiation and had some 93 injuries to his body. | |
| This was not a case of misjudgement in the heat of battle, or in the heat of the moment. There can be no excuse Gen Sir Richard Dannatt | |
| Mr Browne, announcing the inquiry, said: "A public inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa is the right thing to do. | |
| "The Army has nothing to hide in this respect and is keen to learn all the lessons it can from this terrible incident." | |
| Mr Browne also issued a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament, saying that the terms of reference had yet to be set and the Army and Ministry of Defence would co-operate. | |
| He added: "Overall, the conduct of tens of thousands of our people in Iraq has been exemplary; it is a tiny number who have caused a stain on the reputation of the British Army. | |
| "But that does not mean we can allow these events to pass without looking into them thoroughly." | |
| Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt said a court martial in 2007, as well as the Aitken Report into training this year had "gone some way to shed light on this disgraceful incident". | |
| Cpl Donald Payne was jailed for a year in 2007 after pleaded guilty to inhumanely treating civilian detainees in Basra in 2003. | |
| Six other soldiers were cleared of the alleged abuse of the detainees, who included Mr Mousa. | |
| "The Army knows that Mr Baha Mousa should have been treated properly and lawfully but he was not," Gen Dannatt said. | |
| "This was not a case of misjudgement in the heat of battle, or in the heat of the moment. There can be no excuse." |