Abuse video shown at public inquiry into British Army interrogation of Iraqis

Video footage of a British soldier screaming at hooded Iraqi detainees crouched in painful stress positions in a detention centre was played at the opening session today of a public inquiry into prisoner abuse by the Army. New details also emerged about the final moments of hotel receptionist Baha Mousa, one of the detainees in the video who died hours later after suffering 93 separate injuries in detention. The long-awaited inquiry will look at how Mr Mousa came to die and the circumstances leading up to his death in September 2003. It will also examine the wider issue of the military's use of banned techniques–such as hooding, sleep and food deprivation and the adoption of stressful positions–used to soften detainees up before interrogation. The techniques were prohibited in 1972 by Edward Heath, then prime minister, after an outcry following their use against a group of IRA detainees in Northern Ireland. A document made public today, however, suggested that there was confusion in the military about how this ban applied.