Tony Blair put pressure on officials to ensure that British soldiers accused of beating an Iraqi man to death while in their custody would not be tried in civil courts, newly released files show.
A senior aide wrote to the prime minster in July 2005 to tell him that the attorney general had met army prosecutors that afternoon to discuss the case against soldiers alleged to have beaten Baha Mousa to death.
It was likely the case would proceed to a court martial, wrote Antony Phillipson, the then prime minister’s private secretary for foreign affairs, adding: “Although if the AG felt that the case were better dealt with in a civil court he could direct accordingly.”
“It must not!” Blair wrote on top of this paragraph in the files released to the National Archives at Kew, west London.
Two years later, a corporal who brutally mistreated Mousa and other civilians at a detention centre in Basra in September 2003 was court-martialed and became the first British soldier to be convicted of a war crime.
Cpl Donald Payne, who was jailed for a year and dismissed from the army, punched and kicked the civilians when they were hooded and handcuffed and conducted what he called “the choir”, striking the prisoners in sequence, their groans or shrieks making up the “music”. Payne admitted inhumanly treating Iraqi civilians – a war crime under the international criminal court (ICC) Act 2001.
The newly released files appear to demonstrate Blair’s eagerness to ensure that British soldiers facing allegations of wrongdoing in Iraq would not end up being tried in civilian courts or by the ICC.
Phillipson recommended to Blair that the Ministry of Defence and attorney general provide notes on proposed changes they were making to legislation at the time and an assessment for how they would be presented so that the government could avoid being accused of making it impossible for troops to operate in a war zone.
Blair wrote: “We have, in effect, to be in a position where ICC is not involved and neither is CPS. That is essential. This has been woefully handled by the MoD.”
Earlier, Phillipson had said the Foreign Office expected the ICC prosecutor to decide whether to pursue a formal investigation in relation to allegations about UK military operations in Iraq.
“This is vital,” Blair wrote in the margins.
In 2020, the international criminal court formally abandoned a long-running inquiry into claims that British troops committed war crimes in Iraq between 2003 and 2008.
The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.
If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.
Secure Messaging in the Guardian app
The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.
If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select ‘Secure Messaging’.
SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post
If you can safely use the Tor network without being observed or monitored, you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform.
Finally, our guide at theguardian.com/tips lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each.
