British military officials confirmed Friday that they are investigating new allegations that their soldiers abused a prisoner in Iraq.
Britain's senior military officer announced the investigation as the Daily Mirror published photos of a hooded prisoner who reportedly was beaten and had teeth broken at the hands of British troops.
The newspaper's front-page picture showed a soldier apparently urinating on the prisoner, who was sitting on the floor.
"All allegations are already under investigation," General Michael Jackson, chief of the General Staff, told a late-night news conference.
"If proven, the perpetrators are not fit to wear the queen's uniform. They have besmirched the good name of the army and its honor."
The Mirror said it was given the pictures by serving soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, who were concerned that "rogue elements" in the army were undermining attempts to win support from the Iraqi people.
The newspaper quoted the unidentified soldiers as saying the unarmed captive had been threatened with execution during eight hours of abuse, and was left bleeding and vomiting. They said the captive was then driven away and dumped from the back of a moving vehicle, and it was not known whether he survived.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair said he supported Jackson's statement.
"The prime minister agreed that allegations of this nature are treated most seriously, but they should not be taken as a reflection of the general behavior of coalition forces and the work they are doing with the Iraqi people," Blair's office said.
Earlier Friday, the Ministry of Defense confirmed that military authorities are considering whether to prosecute eight soldiers for allegedly abusing prisoners in Iraq.
The case came to light a year ago, when The Sun reported that a soldier had a roll of film showing an Iraqi detainee bundled up in netting and suspended from a fork-lift truck. The Sun claimed the film also showed troops performing sex acts near captured Iraqis.
The ministry said the Royal Military Police's Special Investigations Branch [SIB] has completed its investigation, and the army's prosecuting authority was deliberating whether to press charges.
None of the soldiers has been publicly identified.
"Where allegations are made, they will be investigated by the SIB and that's what every soldier who wears the British uniform knows," Blair's official spokesman said.
The British case was mentioned by Blair's spokesman at a morning press briefing, as journalists sought the government's reaction to alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners of war by US soldiers.
"The US army spokesman has said this morning that he is appalled, that those responsible have let their fellow soldiers down, and those are views that we would associate the UK government with," said Blair's official spokesman, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.
"This is not representative of the 150,000 soldiers that are in Iraq," the spokesman said, adding that the coalition should not be judged on the alleged actions of a few.
The comments came after the US' CBS television network broadcast images of Iraqis stripped naked, hooded and being tormented by their captors.
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