Army general quizzed over 'hooding'

 UKPA

A senior Army officer was unaware that troops under his command wrongly believed hooding Iraqi prisoners was standard operating procedure, an inquiry has heard. In April 2003, Major General Robin Brims, later promoted to Lieutenant General, outlawed the hooding of detainees throughout 1st (UK) Armoured Division, then serving in Iraq.

But asked if he was aware that some soldiers had been routinely hooding prisoners at the point of capture, Lt Gen Brims said: "I did not see it."

The Lt Gen was giving evidence during an inquiry investigating allegations that British soldiers beat to death hotel receptionist Baha Mousa, 26, in Basra, southern Iraq, in September 2003.

It has heard that troops used "conditioning" methods on Iraqi prisoners, such as hooding, sleep deprivation and making them stand in painful stress positions with their knees bent and hands outstretched.

These techniques were outlawed by the Government in 1972 after an investigation into an interrogation in Northern Ireland.

Gerard Elias QC, counsel for the inquiry, asked Lt Gen Brims: "Did you know at the time of issuing that order that there were troops on the ground that believed it was a standard operating procedure to hood prisoners at the point of capture?"

The Lt Gen responded: "I didn't know at the time, I now know it, yes."

The Lt Gen insisted that he had not seen a standard operational procedure telling soldiers to use hoods at the point of capture. But he said there was some confusion as to whether hooding prisoners was lawful or not.

The Lt Gen also told the inquiry he gave an oral order to ban hooding after witnessing a detainee at the Umm Qasr prisoner of war handling centre being moved while wearing a sandbag hood.