Then PM wrote on note from aide in 2005 that case ‘must not’ be dealt with in civil court, archives reveal
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Tony Blair put pressure on officials to ensure that British soldiers accused of beating an Iraqi man to death while in their custody would not be tried in civil courts, newly released files show.
A senior aide wrote to the prime minster in July 2005 to tell him that the attorney general had met army prosecutors that afternoon to discuss the case against soldiers alleged to have beaten Baha Mousa to death.
It was likely the case would proceed to a court martial, wrote Antony Phillipson, the then prime minister’s private secretary for foreign affairs, adding: “Although if the AG felt that the case were better dealt with in a civil court he could direct accordingly.”
