The UK government claimed for the first time on Monday night that the London-based Daily Mirror's Iraq "abuse" photographs were fakes, saying an investigation had revealed doubts about their authenticity.
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told the House of Commons of "strong indications" that a truck seen in the pictures was not used in Iraq, and said later on Channel 4 News that they were fakes.
He also cast doubt on the use of testimony by a third soldier who talked to the Mirror at the weekend, saying the offenses he detailed had already been widely reported and investigated.
The Mirror reacted angrily to the comments, saying Hoon was attempting to divert attention from the real story of abuse.
In the House of Commons, Hoon said the Royal Military Police special investigation branch had told him there were strong indications that the vehicle in which the photographs were taken was not in Iraq during the relevant period.
He said the branch had interviewed the soldier described by the Mirror as "soldier C" and investigated the allegation at the center of his evidence concerning the death in custody of Baha Mousa.
Mousa, 26, a hotel receptionist, was allegedly beaten to death in Basra last September.
"These allegations were widely covered in other newspapers many months ago," Hoon said. "I leave it to the House to judge why they have been recycled in this way."
Hoon also questioned why the pictures were in black and white.
Later, on Channel 4 News, anchorman Jon Snow asked him: "So let's hear it, they are fakes?"
He replied: "Well it appears to be the case, yes."
He said it was "important that the Mirror now answer why they have perpetrated this hoax."
Of the disputed truck, he said: "This is the evidence we have -- that this particular truck was not in Iraq."
"It's now really a matter for the Daily Mirror to indicate whether they are willing to co-operate as they said they would in investigating what increasingly looks like a hoax," he said.
The Mirror issued a strong rebuttal, accusing Hoon of attempting to divert attention from the "bigger and more important" issue of soldier abuse.
The paper said that it re-mained "absolutely confident that those pictures accurately illustrate a serious abuse of a detainee by members of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment."
"We note that Hoon does not deny the incident happened," it said.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was