MOD releases report into abuse of Iraqi civilians

The report focuses solely on instances where members of the British Army are alleged or proven to have mistreated Iraqi civilians. It found no evidence of systematic abuse by members of the British Army but it identified areas for development to ensure that those events will never be repeated.

Speaking today Brigadier Aitken said:

"We were very well prepared for war fighting and achieving military aims in Iraq in 2003. But we were not as prepared as we could have been for dealing with civilian detainees and dealing with the lawless, fluid environment we found ourselves in. But no amount of training can prevent acts of individual criminality. We’re not talking about an endemic problem in the Army, we are talking about a few individual instances where people behaved disgracefully.

"Personnel were trained in humanitarian law and specifically how to deal with prisoners of war, and our processes were pretty good and sophisticated. People weren’t trained though to deal with incidents of ordinary criminality such as looting and that’s the bit that needed to be put right and has been put right now. I do want the report to be used and people in the Army to read it and think about the issues it raises. I think it’s going to make uncomfortable reading for one or two people in the Army, but I don’t mind that.

"There is no evidence of endemic abuse as a normal form of practice in Iraq between 2003 and 2004. We know people do things wrong when operating under difficult circumstances and in 2003 the likelihood of things going wrong was that much greater. The fact that a number of incidents happened in a short space of time reflects the difficult circumstances of that time.

"We now have to encapsulate in our people a better understanding of what is right and wrong, and not by learning the core values parrot-fashion but really understanding what they mean. This means understanding that loyalty is not just to your mates but having the integrity to stand up and be honest and the courage to stand up and confront wrongdoing.

"Criminal activity is criminal activity and disgraceful behaviour is disgraceful behaviour. We’ll never eradicate it completely but what we in the Army have to do is minimise this as much as possible."

See Related Links>>> to view Brigadier Robert Aitken's report in full along with the Written Ministerial Statement from Defence Secretary Des Browne

Brigadier Aitken's report made three recommendations for the Army:

• It must learn and implement lessons from the disciplinary process in the same way that it does for wider operational issues;
• It needs to find better ways to entrench its core values and standards of behaviour and discipline into the everyday lives of personnel;
• It must ensure that administrative action is used correctly.

Following the release of the report, The Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt, said:

"The British Army has performed to the highest standards under extraordinarily testing conditions in Iraq. This report is rightly critical of our performance in a number of areas and it catalogues the significant number of steps we have already taken towards ensuring that such behaviour is not repeated. I am now satisfied that we have put in place measures which ensure that, as far as is humanly possible, there should be no repetition of this behaviour.

"I very much regret the incidents and proven cases of abuse in Iraq in 2003/2004. Nevertheless I welcome the Report published this morning into those cases and I am extremely grateful to Brigadier Aitken for the faithful and dedicated and independent way that he has carried out this Report, a Report I believe that pulls no punches and is very open and honest.

"Can I say that I am extremely proud of what our soldiers have been doing in Iraq and Afghanistan in very difficult circumstances but I take no pride in the activities of a very small number of our soldiers who have been found guilty of abuse in Iraq in 2003/2004.

"We’ve reflected in this Report on those events - we have endeavoured to learn from our experiences, changed some of our processes of training and the way we prepare, educate and train our soldiers for these operations and I am now satisfied that the standards of behaviour are understood by all our people as they operate today in the difficult circumstances of Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I should say that conducting such operations are difficult and dangerous and require all our people to operate according to our core values: courage, integrity, discipline. These are obvious requirements of a soldier but respect for others is absolutely critical and in a small number of cases we have failed.

"This places a challenge on all of us, soldiers and leaders who show that we do our duty, a challenge even for myself down to the most junior Lance Corporal who ensure that our standards, particularly respect for others, are faithfully upheld. I should say that in regretting the incidents I am desperately sorry for those who experienced such abuse and to their families.

"I believe this Report is genuinely independent. Brigadier Aitken is a senior officer of considerable integrity. If we had asked someone outside the Army to do such a Report I don’t believe in all fairness they would have understood the context and the pressures and just what soldiers have to experience. Brigadier Aitken has done a very faithful and dedicated job. I stand by his Report; it is hard hitting in places and I am grateful to him and I am entirely comfortable with his independence."

"These are extremely important issues for the Army. I welcome this report and support the actions that CGS and the Army have taken to try and prevent any recurrence.

"The British public should be reassured that such behaviour is not representative of our thoroughly professional and disciplined armed forces."

The author of the Report, Brigadier Robert Aitken, was commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Wales in 1977 and has served in Bosnia, where he was Commander British Forces for the six months prior to becoming Commander 160 (Wales) Brigade in May 2001. He attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in 2004 and assumed his current appointment as Director of Army Personnel Strategy in December 2004.