Lords' ruling sparks calls for Iraq prisoner abuse inquiry

The government was facing fresh demands for an Iraq prisoner abuse inquiry today after the House of Lords ruled UK human rights laws apply to detainees.

The Lords upheld part of an appeal by relatives of hotel worker Baha Mousa, 26, who died while he was in British Army custody in 2003.

He is alleged to have died after he was tortured over a period of 36 hours while detained by British troops.

Courts martial cleared the soldiers in his case, but the ruling that he was covered by the European Convention on Human Rights could now force a public inquiry.

The Lords also ruled that five other Iraqi civilians killed in different incidents in Basra, who were not being detained, were not covered by human rights law.

Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti said she expected a full independent inquiry to examine the legal advice given to the military about how they could treat prisoners and the training and resources given to military personnel.

She said: "There could now never be a British Guantanamo.

"The British will never be able to build a prison anywhere in the world and say it is a legal black hole. Link