Baha Mousa Victim Of 'Gratuitous Violence' By UK Troops

Although the use of hooding and painful stress positions were banned by the British government in 1972, Gage found a lack of knowledge of this prohibition, which he blamed on "corporate failure" by the Ministry of Defence.

The inquiry chairman said such practices were "standard operating procedure" among 1QLR soldiers dealing with suspected Iraqi insurgents, but said they were "wholly unacceptable in any circumstances".

Gage concluded that the abuse "constituted an appalling episode of serious gratuitous violence on civilians which resulted in the death of one man and injuries of others"."They represent a very serious breach of discipline by a number of members of 1QLR," he continued, adding that the events were "a very great stain on the reputation of the army". More.