British army in new Iraqi prisoner abuse inquiry

British military police have launched a new inquiry into allegations that Iraqi prisoners were beaten and abused at a notorious British army base near Basra. Following advice from Baroness Scotland, the attorney-general, detectives have arrested Gary Bartlam, the soldier at the center of the 2003 scandal at Camp Bread Basket just outside the city in southern Iraq. Bartlam became infamous after he admitted taking "trophy" photographs of naked Iraqis forced by British soldiers into simulated sex acts. The case, which became known as Britain's "Abu Ghraib" made headlines around the world. Bartlam was jailed for 18 months in January 2005, but this was later cut to 12 months on appeal. He was released in June 2005, having served five months. In the latest police move, Bartlam, a former soldier with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was arrested at a military police station in Staffordshire about two weeks ago. Detectives from the Special Investigation Branch of the Royal Military Police interviewed him about claims by a former Iraqi detainee that he had whipped him with a radio antenna. Military sources said the latest inquiry related to new allegations about what went on in Camp Bread Basket in May 2003. They said a second man, who was also a fusilier in the same camp, had been quizzed by police earlier this month about the new claims. Bartlam's arrest has shocked his family and friends. They say he had put the first Camp Bread Basket scandal behind him. In an interview last year, Bartlam defended his role saying: "I was never given a chance to explain what I did, they just made an example of me -- I was a scapegoat." Bartlam's friends say he was simply naive in taking the pictures and standing by while the abuse took place. Military officials said a decision on whether he would be charged would be made after a report on the case had been sent to a commanding officer. The latest arrest over new allegations at the camp will refocus attention on Britain's role in the Iraq War. A report by Brigadier Robert Aitken last month said flaws in the preparation of British troops for dealing with prisoners were to blame for brutality against civilians. Soldiers, it said, needed "a better understanding between right and wrong." A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said: "We can confirm that two former members of the Royal Fusiliers have been arrested over allegations of abuse at Camp Bread Basket."