A former Liverpool soldier has spoken of his 17 years of torment since being wrongly accused of killing an Iraqi teenager.
Guardsman Joseph McCleary, 39, from Bootle, says he felt "hung out to dry" by the Army over the tragic drowning of a 15-year-old boy forced into a canal.
Mr McCleary, who was 20 at the time of incident in 2003, was reinvestigated a further three times, but a case was never proved.
The dad-of-three revealed his heartache and struggle and told how he had attempted to take his life four times as he seeks an apology from the Ministry of Defence.
Now living in Norris Green, Mr McCleary is part of a group of 30 ex-servicemen falsely accused of war crimes in Iraq whose "lives have been devastated as a result."
Irish Guard Joseph was found not guilty of manslaughter by a court martial panel sitting in Colchester, Essex, in 2006, after the prosecution alleged teenager Ahmed Jabar Karheem, who could not swim, was ordered into the Shatt al-Basra canal in May 2003 after being caught looting.
It was part of a new Army policy called "wetting" when looters were directed to rivers and canals to make them feel uncomfortable and persuade them to go home in a tactic considered "minimum force" and at a time when senior British military figures have since conceded there were insufficient troops to carry out the duties of an occupying power.
The evidence at the court martial was severely called into question, with just one eyewitness - another suspected looter - who admitted he had hoped for compensation for reporting the incident.
Mr McCleary spoke to the ECHO as a joint legal lawsuit was launched to claim damages from the government for what they claim was a wrongful prosecution.
He said: "The Ministry of Defence consistently tortured us, it was never over.
"I tried to take my own life in Liverpool on numerous occasions.
"I was arrested, charged and thrown out the Army, cleared in 2006, but then investigated over and over again.
"We were put through the mill, there was no duty of care from the Ministry of Defence.
"I went to hell and back and hit the bottom.
"They made me feel guilty for something I didn't do."
Fronted by Hilary Meredith Solicitors, Mr McCleary is one of 30 ex-servicemen hoping to take their case to the High Court in London for damages.
The group has started an online fundraising appeal as they need to find £10,000 to initiate the claim, with legal aid not being available to them.
Mr McCleary described how his torment led him to try and take his own life on numerous occasions.
Mr McCleary said: "I do work now, but it was a massive struggle to get as job and get confidence."
Co-accused Sergeant Carle Selman, 39, serving with the Scots Guards, and Guardsman Martin McGing, 22, of the Irish Guards, were also found not guilty following the five week trial in 2006.
During the trial, there was criticism that British soldiers had not received any proper training in the transition period between war and peacekeeping.
A high-ranking Army officer admitted a lack of planning had turned the occupation into a shambles.
The group of 30 is also now suing indemnity insurers who supported the disgraced lawyer Phil Shiner, who was found guilty of misconduct and dishonesty relating to false abuse claims against troops.
Despite being cleared, there was fresh scrutiny 10 years later, in 2016, as Mr McCleary was forced to give evidence to the Iraq Fatality Investigations (IFI) unit, which was an inquest-style inquiry funded by the MoD.
Recalling the tragic incident, in 2003, he said today: "There was a process of wetting.
"Unfortunately, this lad drowned and it was unintentional, he struggled in the water.
"I was only a 20-year-old soldier, following orders.
"The whole city was looting, it was ridiculous, there was no way to contain them.
"The Army expected me to go from being in a war to them become a police officer, with no training.
"The boy's death was an accident, I've shed so many tears for that boy.
"If I could have saved him, I would have."
Robert Campbell, the lead name on the legal suit against the MoD, who served for 21 years in the British Army as a soldier in the Parachute Regiment TA, said: "On behalf of my soldiers, and the thousands of others that were falsely accused, I am now bringing legal action against the MOD for redress after enduring 18 years of exceptional bureaucratic incompetence.
"I am unable to work and suffer acute PTSD due to my operational service and unnecessary legal trauma that the MOD put me through for its own political purposes.
"I am not alone - thousands of other soldiers and veterans have suffered at the hands of the Army and the MoD in the same way, and are now seeking redress for this debacle."
To contribute to their fundraising, visit here
Mr McCleary said: "No warzone is good to be in.
"I lost two friends in a fire fight, we went through a horrific time.
"But every person in that company was amazing, amazing men, we sometimes barely slept, but we pushed each other on.
"It was a scary experience, gunfire every night, pitch black, at any time we could be shot, we were fighting for our lives every single day.
"I'm from Gray Street in Bootle, I was a Sacred Heart School pupil, I had a tough time growing up.
"But I was a good infantry soldier, I was due to be promoted, but it was then all taken away from me.
"My world collapsed."
Hilary Meredith, leading the legal fight, said: "The conduct of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team is one of the most shameful episodes in modern legal history.
"Thousands of British soldiers were falsely accused of war crimes.
"The whole investigation was a witch hunt based on deceit.
"The MoD has clearly breached the duty of care it owes to our service personnel and veterans.
"They owe a duty of care in law, under the military covenant, morally and ethically to stand by those who serve.
"Instead, they allowed IHAT to pursue innocent troops with false evidence of vile war crimes.
"The falsely accused have paid a huge price - shattered lives, broken marriages, ruined finances, stalled careers, poor mental and physical health."
Correspondence has been exchanged between Hilary Meredith Solicitors and the MoD about the soon-to-be submitted list of claimants.
The Iraq Historic Allegations Team was shut down in June, described as a "£60m probe" which "in its seven years of existence, failed to prosecute a single soldier."
A MoD spokesperson said: “While it would be inappropriate to comment on ongoing cases, we have not received a response from Hilary Meredith to the letter requesting confirmation of the proposed claimants nor a formal letter of legal action.
“However, it is true that our brave service personnel and veterans have been subject to unfounded allegations after serving honourably.
"That is why we have made good on the Government’s manifesto commitment to bring the Overseas Operations Act into law, giving our personnel and veterans the protections they deserve.”
