Blair under pressure over Iraq prisoner scandal

LONDON – An apology from British Prime Minister Tony Blair over the torture of Iraqi prisoners failed to damp down the controversy yesterday, as the government was due to make new statement in parliament and a prominent member of the governing Labour Party openly called for his resignation.

Defence Minister Geoff Hoon was to address the House of Commons at 15h30 on the situation in Iraq, amid speculation that the furore could further undermine the prime minister’s standing as he prepares for a general election next year. Lord David Puttnam, a senior Labour Party member and a personal friend of the prime minister, suggested over the weekend that perhaps the time had come for Blair to bow out.”The prime minister is synonymous with Iraq, and Iraq will only deliver bad news,” Puttnam told British television.”If I were him, I would go before the parliamentary recess.”In an interview in Paris with French television on Sunday, Blair said: “We apologise deeply to anyone who has been mistreated by our soldiers.This is totally unacceptable.””Those responsible will be punished according to the army disciplinary rules,” he said, adding however that the majority of British soldiers did not act like those responsible for the abuses.Blair’s apology came of the heels of a similar gesture last Thursday from US President George W.Bush regarding the abuse and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners by US troops at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.Yesterday, Blair said Britain was already investigating claims that British troops had abused Iraqi prisoners when it received a report in February from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).”You will find, when Geoff Hoon makes his statement, that those things that were subject to the Red Cross report were either being investigated or had already been investigated,” he told reporters.He added: “We will give you details of what was in the Red Cross report as far as we are concerned.””In respect to the publication of that report, that’s a matter for the Red Cross.That’s not a matter for us.But I have to tell you, we are perfectly happy if they wish to publish it.”Meanwhile, an opinion poll for the Independent newspaper indicated that 55 per cent of Britons want British troops out of Iraq after the planned June 30 handover of some power to Iraqis.The ICM poll was conducted from April 30 through May 2, just as the prisoner abuse scandal was beginning to unfold.Britain was plunged into the prisoner torture furore on May 1 when the Daily Mirror ran photos purporting to show a British soldier beating and urinating on an Iraqi prisoner in British-controlled southern Iraq.The Ministry of Defence opened an investigation, amid suspicions that the photos might not have been authentic.But then the ICRC and Amnesty International revealed that they had been warning the US-led coalition about abuses and prisoner mistreatment for over a year.Former foreign secretary Robin Cook, who quit Blair’s government over the Iraq war, said on Sunday it was in the public’s interest for the government to publish the ICRC report.A spokesman for Blair’s office confirmed Saturday that the British government had seen a copy of the ICRC report in February, the same time as the US administration had.On Sunday, the Ministry of Defence admitted it had known for “several months” of the abuse allegations, and that investigations had been going on since last year.- Nampa-AFPLord David Puttnam, a senior Labour Party member and a personal friend of the prime minister, suggested over the weekend that perhaps the time had come for Blair to bow out.”The prime minister is synonymous with Iraq, and Iraq will only deliver bad news,” Puttnam told British television.”If I were him, I would go before the parliamentary recess.”In an interview in Paris with French television on Sunday, Blair said: “We apologise deeply to anyone who has been mistreated by our soldiers.This is totally unacceptable.””Those responsible will be punished according to the army disciplinary rules,” he said, adding however that the majority of British soldiers did not act like those responsible for the abuses.Blair’s apology came of the heels of a similar gesture last Thursday from US President George W.Bush regarding the abuse and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners by US troops at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.Yesterday, Blair said Britain was already investigating claims that British troops had abused Iraqi prisoners when it received a report in February from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).”You will find, when Geoff Hoon makes his statement, that those things that were subject to the Red Cross report were either being investigated or had already been investigated,” he told reporters.He added: “We will give you details of what was in the Red Cross report as far as we are concerned.””In respect to the publication of that report, that’s a matter for the Red Cross.That’s not a matter for us.But I have to tell you, we are perfectly happy if they wish to publish it.”Meanwhile, an opinion poll for the Independent newspaper indicated that 55 per cent of Britons want British troops out of Iraq after the planned June 30 handover of some power to Iraqis.The ICM poll was conducted from April 30 through May 2, just as the prisoner abuse scandal was beginning to unfold.Britain was plunged into the prisoner torture furore on May 1 when the Daily Mirror ran photos purporting to show a British soldier beating and urinating on an Iraqi prisoner in British-controlled southern Iraq.The Ministry of Defence opened an investigation, amid suspicions that the photos might not have been authentic.But then the ICRC and Amnesty International revealed that they had been warning the US-led coalition about abuses and prisoner mistreatment for over a year.Former foreign secretary Robin Cook, who quit Blair’s government over the Iraq war, said on Sunday it was in the public’s interest for the government to publish the ICRC report.A spokesman for Blair’s office confirmed Saturday that the British government had seen a copy of the ICRC report in February, the same time as the US administration had.On Sunday, the Ministry of Defence admitted it had known for “several months” of the abuse allegations, and that investigations had been going on since last year.- Nampa-AFP