Tony Blair Pressured Officials to Shield UK Soldiers from Prosecution in Iraq Case
Newly released documents from the National Archives at Kew, west London, reveal that Tony Blair pressed government officials in July 2005 to prevent UK soldiers accused of beating an Iraqi man to death from facing trial in civil courts or by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The case centered on the death of Baha Mousa at a Basra detention centre in September 2003.
Antony Phillipson, Blair's private secretary for foreign affairs, reported that the attorney general had discussed the case with army prosecutors and might direct proceedings to a civil court if deemed appropriate. However, Blair annotated the note to indicate that this course must not happen. The files suggest that Blair sought to avoid the involvement of both the ICC and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), considering legislative changes to ensure soldiers could operate without risk of outside prosecution.
Phillipson recommended preparing notes and an assessment on how to present these legislative changes in a way that would avoid accusations of obstructing troops operating in war zones. Blair emphasized that excluding the ICC and CPS was essential and criticized the Ministry of Defence's handling of the situation.
In 2007, Corporal Donald Payne was court-martialed, jailed for a year, and dismissed from service, becoming the first British soldier convicted of a war crime under the ICC Act 2001. The ICC later formally abandoned its long-running inquiry into the actions of British troops in Iraq between 2003 and 2008 in 2020.
