Soldiers viewed all Iraqis as 'scum', Baha Mousa inquiry hears

An officer of the regiment detaining Baha Mousa, a Basra hotel worker, when he was beaten to death said his soldiers held the view that "all Iraqis were scum", it was disclosed today. One officer tried to mount an "arse covering" exercise after Mousa's death, while others expressed ignorance of basic rules covering the treatment of prisoners, the public inquiry into the incident heard. A military intelligence officer, identified only as SO [staff officer] 17, told the inquiry she was "amazed" at questions senior officers asked her about how prisoners should be treated. Hooding, stress positions, noise-producing equipment and sleep deprivation were prohibited in a Joint Intelligence Committee document in 1972, the inquiry heard. They were banned by Edward Heath, then prime minister, after their use in Northern Ireland.