A British officer who gave an unlawful order to troops under his command to "come down hard" on Iraqis caught looting was not charged with any offence, a British army court martial heard today.
The order by Major Dan Taylor breached the Geneva Convention and the crackdown that followed at an aid camp near Basra led to three soldiers being charged with abusing civilians.
The court heard that Maj Taylor had briefed his commanding officer Lieut Col David Paterson about his plan at a meeting the night before Operation Ali Baba began.
He said: "I outlined to him what we were going to do - round up as many men as we could, work them for an hour or so and then release them." He admitted ordering his men - about 50 in total - to "work them hard" after they had captured the looters.
Maj Taylor was only spoken to by senior officers - who concluded that he was guilty no more than "misguided zeal", the court heard today.
Three soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers are accused of abusing and assaulting Iraqi civilian prisoners at Camp Bread Basket, near Basra.
Lance Corporal Mark Cooley (25) and Corporal Daniel Kenyon (33), from Newcastle upon Tyne, both deny the charges.
Lance Corporal Darren Larkin, 30, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, has admitted one charge of assaulting an unknown male at the camp, but denies another charge of forcing two Iraqi males to undress in front of others.
PA