Six Iraqis died in our custody, British officer tells Baha Musa inquiry

At least six Iraqis died while being held in British military custody during the first two months of the war in Iraq, a public inquiry has been told.

Lieutenant-Colonel Nicholas Mercer, the former head of the Army’s legal team in the country, also disclosed that there was a shortage of troops dedicated to looking after detainees and said that Britain treated the issue as a low priority, regarding it as an “inconvenience” rather than an obligation under international law.

Lieutenant-Colonel Mercer said the appointment of a British judge and an independent review body to oversee the treatment of captives would have prevented any abuse. Such a move, he claimed, was seemingly blocked by Lord Goldsmith, then Attorney-General.

Lord Goldsmith denied through a spokesman standing in the way of any measure that would have prevented abuses.

Lieutenant-Colonel Mercer, the chief legal adviser to 1st (UK) Armoured Division in the March 2003 invasion, was speaking at the inquiry into the death of Baha Musa, a hotel receptionist, in September 2003. The father-of-two died after 36 hours in custody.

“If the issue of prisoners had been properly resourced and we had been allowed to implement a proper reviewing and oversight mechanism . . . then the tragedy which unfolded might never have happened,” he said in a witness statement.

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