- Britain is preparing to send extra troops to Iraq and
they could be deployed in more dangerous areas of the country, Tony Blair
acknowledged for the first time in the Commons yesterday.
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- He told MPs that the Government was in discussion with
the Americans and other coalition partners "about the possibility
of providing more troops to different parts of Iraq".
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- Despite growing speculation that the Government is considering
an expansion of Britain's military role in Iraq, Mr Blair had previously
said only that troop levels were kept under constant review.
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- His reference to British troops being sent to different
parts of Iraq is an indication that they could be deployed outside the
southern area of Iraq around Basra, where the bulk of the country's 7,500
soldiers are based.
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- That could result in the reinforcements being deployed
in some of the hotspots in Iraq, including towns to the south of Baghdad,
such as Najaf.
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- These were previously patrolled by Spanish forces, which
are being withdrawn from Iraq following the change of government in Madrid.
Mr Blair said that discussions on the deployment of extra British forces
had not yet been concluded.
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- Downing Street said later that "numbers and locations"
were being discussed, and defence sources have indicated that up to 3,000
soldiers could be sent out to Iraq. If the British troops moved north,
one option would be for Britain to take over command of the central south
division.
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- As MPs on all sides expressed concern over allegations
of American and British troops beating and humiliating Iraqi captives,
the Commons defence committee announced that it was summoning Piers Morgan,
the editor of the Daily Mirror, to give evidence.
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- The newspaper published photographs on Saturday which
it claimed showed British troops beating and urinating on an Iraqi prisoner.
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- The committee said that it hoped to question Morgan "at
an early opportunity" and called on him to co-operate fully with an
investigation being conducted by the Royal Military Police.
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- The MPs on the committee said they shared the feelings
of "shock and outrage" at the acts depicted in the Daily Mirror
photographs. But the newspaper's allegations risked placing British Service
personnel in Iraq in still greater danger.
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- Morgan said he would have "no problem" giving
evidence to the foreign affairs committee. "We've got nothing to hide
and we'd take this opportunity to stand by what we've published and explain
why," he said. He dismissed claims that the Daily Mirror's controversial
photographs were produced to order.
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- Morgan described as "completely invented and completely
untrue" a report in the Daily Express that the Daily Mirror only secured
the pictures after telling two soldiers who came to the paper with claims
about the abuse that they would have to provide "corroborative evidence".
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- Senior sources on the newspaper said the pair first made
a "tentative approach" at the end of February with claims that
members of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment were mistreating Iraqis.
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- They said Daily Mirror journalists met the servicemen
at several meetings during March and April, and at the first of these interviews
the soldiers showed them the same photographs that were published on Saturday.
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- Daily Mirror insiders say the delay in printing the pictures
was due to the story's sensitivity and the servicemen's concerns that they
would be court-martialled.
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- They only handed over the pictures once they had signed
contracts with the newspaper on Tuesday last week, said sources. The contracts
are said to have earned them £5,000 each.
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- The Mirror has defended the accuracy of its report, although
military sources have questioned the authenticity of the pictures and believe
that they were were faked.
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- Mr Blair told MPs that any abuse, torture or degradation
of prisoners by coalition troops in Iraq was "wholly unacceptable".
He added: "That is what we went to Iraq to get rid of, not to perpetuate."
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- He declined to pass judgment on the veracity of pictures
printed by the Daily Mirror. While the acts depicted were "completely
unacceptable", it would also be "extremely serious" if the
photographs turned out to be fakes, he said.
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- Any judgment should wait until the investigation by the
RMP is complete, he said. Michael Howard, the Tory leader, said the allegations
had done "enormous damage" to the reputation of British troops.
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- If the pictures had been faked, it would be "a matter
of the utmost seriousness for which the editor of the Daily Mirror would
have to take full responsibility", he said. Morgan said if it emerged
he had been "completely hoaxed" he would "have to consider
his position".
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