Geoff Hoon gives evidence to inquiry into death of Baha Mousa

As the former Secretary of State for Defence, Geoff Hoon, gives evidence at the inquiry into the ill-treatment and death of Baha Mousa today (10 June) CEO of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, Keith Best, calls on the current Secretary of State for Defence to ensure that such terrible abuses cannot occur in the future.

The inquiry is investigating claims that UK soldiers beat to death 26-year-old Mousa in 2003 in Basra, Iraq. He was found dead with 93 injuries after being held in the custody of 1st Battalion the Queen's Lancashire Regiment and the inquiry has heard that Mousa was hooded for almost 24 hours. Earlier this week the former head of the army, General Sir Mike Jackson said the hooding of Mousa, an Iraqi civilian was inhumane and that his death remained "a stain on the character of the British Army".

Best says: "We welcome this frank admission by Gen Jackson that the hooding of Mr Mousa and other Iraqis detained with him had been inhumane and contravened the Geneva Conventions.

We must await the full findings of the inquiry before conclusions can be reached and individuals held responsible, but it is not premature at this stage, with a new Government, for the Secretary of State for Defence to issue a statement about what action has been taken to ensure that such terrible abuses cannot occur in future. The government should re-state it's commitment to eradicating impunity, ensuring that those who do not meet international standards required in the treatment of detainees are held to account throughout the chain of command".