When the army's in the dock, Justice swaps her crown for a bandana

[Dara bhur gCara]

Britain can hardly pass the democracy test when government and military police collude to prevent murderers being tried

I was reminded of Dr Ouko after reading the judgment on the case brought to the high court in London by Khuder al-Sweady and other Iraqis. They were seeking a public inquiry into the events of May 2004, when, they claim, they or their relatives were taken to a British army camp and tortured or killed. The judges published their findings on Friday and ordered a proper inquiry. It is the most damning judgment on official collusion and concealment written since Labour came to power. Total coverage in British newspapers so far amounts to one short article in the Guardian.

The claimants say that after a battle at a checkpoint in southern Iraq, some of the survivors, including farmers cowering in nearby fields, were taken by the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment to Camp Abu Naji. Witnesses say that up to 20 prisoners were jumped on while their hands were bound, hit with rocks, had their eyes gouged out and their genitals crushed and mutilated and were then hanged or shot. They claim that the corpses were then handed to their families as battlefield casualties.

The royal military police were supposed to have investigated these claims, but as a recent report on their methods by Greater Manchester police shows, they messed it up with panache, appointing unqualified detectives, losing evidence and failing to interview witnesses. The military police concluded that no one had done anything wrong, that 20 Iraqi corpses and nine live captives were brought to the camp and all were released without further injury. The Ministry of Defence has stuck to that line like a holy creed.