Background to The Inquiry
In a written statement given in Parliament on 14 May 2008 the Secretary of State for Defence announced that there would be a public inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa, an Iraqi civilian who died whilst in detention at 1st Battalion, The Queen's Lancashire Regiment Battle Group Main (BG Main) facility in Basra, Iraq in September 2003. He described that death as a disturbing incident: not just because a man died in the custody of British soldiers but because an investigation by the Royal Military Police and a subsequent Court Martial highlighted further important questions that needed to be answered.
The Inquiry is established under the Inquiries Act 2005 and is chaired by the Right Honourable Sir William Gage, a retired Court of Appeal judge. His terms of reference are:
"To investigate and report on the circumstances surrounding the death of Baha Mousa and the treatment of those detained with him, taking account of the investigations which have already taken place, in particular where responsibility lay for approving the practice of conditioning detainees by any members of the 1st Battalion, The Queen’s Lancashire Regiment in Iraq in 2003, and to make recommendations."
click here to view maps of Basra and BG Main
click here of view a list of Core Participants
click here to view a command structure diagram for Op Telic 2
click here to view a 'cast' list for Module 2
click here to view a 'cast' list for Module 3
click here for a glossary of acronyms