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Baha Mousa doctor Derek Keilloh struck off after 'repeated dishonesty' Baha Mousa doctor Derek Keilloh struck off after 'repeated dishonesty'
(about 2 hours later)
A former army doctor, found guilty of misconduct by medical watchdogs over the death of an Iraqi man who was tortured to death by British soldiers, was struck off the medical register on Friday. A former army doctor found guilty of misconduct by medical watchdogs over the death of an Iraqi man who was tortured to death by British soldiers has been struck off the register.
Derek Keilloh, 38, now a Yorkshire-based GP, was found to be unfit to continue to practise after a panel concluded that he acted in a dishonest way after the death of Baha Mousa in September 2003, and had failed to protect other men who were being mistreated at the same time. Derek Keilloh was found to be unfit to continue to practise after a panel concluded that he acted in a dishonest way after the death of Baha Mousa in September 2003, and had failed to protect other men who were being mistreated at the same time.
The medical practitioners tribunal service, part of the General Medical Council, announced "with regret" that the only "appropriate sanction" was banning him from working as a doctor. The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, part of the General Medical Council, announced "with regret" that the only "appropriate sanction" was banning him from working as a doctor.
Mousa died after being forced into stress positions and beaten for 36 hours. A postmortem examination showed that he had suffered 93 separate injuries, including fractured ribs and a broken nose. Mousa died after being forced into stress positions and beaten for 36 hours by soldiers of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment. A postmortem examination showed that he had suffered 93 separate injuries, including fractured ribs and a broken nose.
Keilloh, then a 28-year-old medical officer with the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, claimed after failing to resuscitate Mousa that he had seen no injuries. He said that he had seen only dried blood around the dead man's nose. Keilloh, 38 and currently a Yorkshire GP, had been a medical officer with First Battalion, the Queen's Lancashire Regiment (1 QLR). After failing to resuscitate Mousa he claimed that he had seen no injuries, noticing only dried blood around the dead man's nose. He then sent two other detainees back to the room where they had been repeatedly assaulted, and where they continued to be mistreated throughout the night.
The panel found that Keilloh had engaged in "repeated dishonesty" and "misleading and dishonest" conduct. It also found that he had failed to bring to attention of senior officers the injuries to Mousa and the possible mistreatment of two other detainees, breaking a "fundamental tenet" of the medical profession. The panel was satisfied that he should have suspected foul play. The panel recognised that Keilloh did not himself harm Mousa and did what he could to attempt to save his life, in a setting that was "highly charged, chaotic, tense and stressful". But they ruled he must have seen the injuries and, as a doctor, had a duty to act.
Mousa, a hotel receptionist, was arrested by British troops who believed, wrongly, that he was an insurgent involved in the killing of four of their colleagues the month before. The panel's members found that Keilloh had engaged in "repeated dishonesty" and "misleading and dishonest" conduct, lying to army investigators about the injuries and, in sticking to his story, giving false evidence in subsequent court martials and a public inquiry.
The decision to strike Keilloh off the register comes 24 hours after the Ministry of Defence said it had paid out £14m in compensation and costs to hundreds of Iraqis who complained they were illegally detained and tortured by British forces during the occupation of the south-east of the country, which followed the 2003 invasion. The panel also said that Keilloh, knowing of Mousa's injuries and sudden death, did not do enough to protect his patients, the other detainees, from further mistreatment – breaking a "fundamental tenet" of the medical profession.
The investigation into his conduct may also shed new light on the role that military physicians have played during the interrogation of suspected insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr Brian Alderman, the chair of the panel, told him: "The panel has identified serious breaches of good medical practice and, given the gravity and nature of the extent and context of your dishonesty, it considers that your misconduct is fundamentally incompatible with continued registration."
Most of the Iraqis who complain that they suffered severe mistreatment after being detained by British forces say that they were examined by a doctor before interrogation. Many have alleged that they suffered injuries – including fractures – when first detained, but that the doctors paid no attention to their wounds, and instead checked their heart rate and breathing before questioning. Niall Dickson, chief executive of the General Medical Council, said: "We recognise that this has been a particularly challenging case with difficult and unusual circumstances but patients and the public must be confident that the doctor who treats them is competent and trustworthy."
Video evidence of some of the interrogations conducted by a shadowy military intelligence unit called the joint forward interrogation team (Jfit) supports allegations that detainees were starved, deprived of sleep, subjected to sensory deprivation and threatened with execution. Keilloh has 28 days to appeal.
Former Jfit detainees and their lawyers believe the doctors were examining prisoners before interrogation to establish that they would survive the ordeal that was to follow. Mousa, 26, a hotel receptionist and father of two young children, was arrested in September 2003 by British troops who believed, wrongly, that he was an insurgent involved in the killing of four of their colleagues the month before.
In December 2010, two high court judges ruled that allegations that more than 100 detainees had suffered systemic abuse was supported by evidence that "each detainee was medically examined at various points by doctors and medical operatives under a duty to report ill-treatment". A public inquiry led by Sir William Gage concluded that Mousa's death was caused by one final assault by his guards following 36 hours of mistreatment. The inquiry's report strongly criticised the "corporate failure" by the Ministry of Defence and the "lack of moral courage to report abuse" within the Preston-based 1 QLR.
When the court's judgment was brought to the attention of the British Medical Association (BMA), the organisation insisted that it was unable to take any action. Although the BMA has a protocol for intervention to deal with human rights abuses by doctors, which calls for credible complaints to be forwarded to Amnesty International, it insisted that complaints about the activities of British military doctors in Iraq "does not fall within our remit". A spokesman added: "The BMA's position is not based on whether BMA members have been involved." It named 19 soldiers who assaulted Mousa and other detainees, and found that many others, including several officers and the regiment's padre, must have known what was happening.
Since that court judgment was handed down, the number of Iraqi civilians claiming to have suffered severe mistreatment while in British military custody is said to have risen to more than 1,110. Before the inquiry's report was published, the MoD briefed journalists that Gage had found no evidence of systemic abuse by British forces holding and interrogating Iraqi prisoners. In fact, the judge concluded that "there is more than a hint that hooding, if not other conditioning practices, was more widespread than in just 1 QLR", but said he was unable to investigate just how widespread.
While the inquiry was in progress, the Guardian disclosed that all three branches of the British military had continued to train interrogators in techniques that included threats, sensory deprivation and enforced nakedness, in apparent breach of the Geneva conventions.
The decision to strike Keilloh off the register comes 24 hours after the MoD said it had paid out £14m in compensation and costs to hundreds of Iraqis who complained that they were illegally detained and tortured by British forces during the occupation of the south-east of the country that followed the 2003 invasion.
Human rights groups and lawyers representing former prisoners are pushing for a public inquiry into British detention and interrogation practices in Iraq, which would trace responsibility for the abuse up the military chain of command and beyond, and shed light on the role played by military physicians.
Phil Shiner, the lawyer representing Mousa's family, said after Keilloh was struck off that "the medical profession is well rid of such a man". Indicating that legal action was being contemplated against other military physicians, he added: "All those UK doctors in Iraq who also saw signs of ill-treatment of Iraqi detainees but took no action had best start to instruct lawyers."
Some 135 of the Iraqis who complain that they suffered severe mistreatment after being detained by British forces say they were examined by a doctor before interrogation. Many have alleged that they suffered injuries – including fractures – when first detained, but that the doctors paid no attention to their wounds, and instead checked their heart rate and breathing before questioning.
Video evidence of some of the interrogations conducted by a shadowy military intelligence unit called the Joint Forward Interrogation Team (JFIT) supports allegations that detainees were starved, deprived of sleep, subjected to sensory deprivation and threatened with execution.
Former JFIT detainees and their lawyers believe the British military doctors were examining prisoners before interrogation to establish that they would survive the ordeal that was to follow.
In December 2010, two high court judges ruled that allegations that more than 100 detainees had suffered systemic abuse were supported by evidence that "each detainee was medically examined at various points by doctors and medical operatives under a duty to report ill-treatment".
When the court's judgment was brought to the attention of the British Medical Association (BMA), the organisation insisted it was unable to take any action. Although the BMA has a protocol for intervention to deal with human rights abuses by doctors, which calls for credible complaints to be forwarded to Amnesty International, it insisted that complaints about the activities of British military doctors in Iraq "does not fall within our remit". A spokesman added: "The BMA's position is not based on whether BMA members have been involved."
Since that court judgment was handed down, the number of Iraqi civilians claiming to have suffered severe mistreatment while in British military custody is said to have risen to more than 1,100.