Minister admits misleading MPs over hooding

Ex-Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram denied in a Parliamentary answer that UK forces hooded detainees as an interrogation technique despite seeing a document suggesting they did, a public inquiry heard.

The inquiry is investigating allegations that British soldiers beat to death hotel receptionist Baha Mousa, 26, in Basra, southern Iraq, in September 2003.

Mr Ingram was copied in on a memo revealing that the Iraqi was hooded for a total of nearly 24 hours out of 36 hours in UK military custody before he died. He also received another document stating that Mr Mousa and colleagues detained with him were apparently hooded.

Nine months after the Iraqi's death, Mr Ingram assured then-Labour MP Jean Corston, chair of the Parliamentary joint committee on human rights, that hooding was only used while detainees were being transported for security reasons.

In a letter dated June 25 2004, he wrote: "The UK believes that this is acceptable under Geneva Conventions but I should make absolutely clear that hooding was only used during the transit of prisoners. It was not used as an interrogation technique."

The former minister accepted today that this information should have been "more specific".

He said: "It (hooding) could have been used within an interrogation area for the security of the individual because that individual may be coming to give evidence... It's clearly not a very precise term."

Rabinder Singh QC, counsel for Mr Mousa's family and the other detainees, suggested to him: "It's just not accurate, is it?" Mr Ingram replied: "That's correct."

Mr Ingram had also assured Labour MP Kevin McNamara that the British military did not employ hooding in a Parliamentary answer dated June 28 2004 in which he said: "We are not aware of any incidents in which United Kingdom interrogators are alleged to have used hooding as an interrogation technique."

This appeared to contradict a Ministry of Defence briefing document about Mr Mousa's death which Mr Ingram saw.

Mr Ingram said: "In hindsight it would have been better if the department had reminded me of all the documentation.

The inquiry has heard that British troops used hooding, sleep deprivation and made them stand in painful stress positions which were supposedly outlawed by the Government in March 1972.

The hearing continues.