Britain's Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram has told the House of Commons that photographs apparently showing British troops abusing an Iraqi prisoner would be investigated fully.
The Ministry of Defence has begun an investigation into the pictures, which appear to show a hooded and bound Iraqi prisoner being mistreated.
The photos were published by the Daily Mirror newspaper at the weekend. Some military personnel have questioned their authenticity, but the newspaper insists they are genuine.
Mr Ingram said the British government was taking the allegations against British soldiers seriously.
Call for court action
In a separate development, the International Committee of the Red Cross has said that any proven abuse of Iraqi prisoners held by the occupation forces in Iraq should lead to court action against those responsible.
A spokeswoman said that the ICRC regularly visited the Abu Ghraib, the main facility where accusations of torture by US soldiers have emerged.
‘When there is information relating to torture it is extremely important that there should be a serious investigation, and if the allegations prove to be true, that such acts should be punished by the law,’ the spokeswoman said.
This would ‘prevent abuses in the future by making it clear that they won't be tolerated and that the perpetrators of such acts will be brought to justice and punished,’ she said.
Photographs of abuses at the prison outside Baghdad ‘are deeply shocking and absolutely unacceptable,’ the spokeswoman added.
Explosion in Baghdad
Earlier, there was a large explosion in a western suburb of Baghdad where the Abu Ghraib prison complex is located.
Several artillery shells were earlier fired in the same area, which the Americans say was a response to gunfire aimed at US aircraft.
Abu Ghraib prison was also notorious for its torture chambers under Saddam Hussein.
