Iraqis abused by Americans 'told to blame British troops'
Iraqis who allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of US troops were told to instead blame it on British armed forces who were an 'easy target', it was claimed last night.
According to a whistle-blower who was employed by the law firm Leigh Day, agents for the firm pursued claims which were known to be false as the Ministry of Defence could be cheated easily, the Sun reported.
The source added that while Iraqi citizens were abused by American forces, they could not sue them so changed their claims to target Britain â€" they were paid a minimum of £150,000 for their detention by British troops. The claimants went on to splash the cash on travel and cars, it was claimed.
Agents from the law firm Leigh Day pursued claims they knew to be false because the Ministry of Defence could be easily cheatedÂ
Claims were processed through a Manchester-based Iraqi named Mazin Younis who owned the translation firm OSW Multiligual.
There is no suggestion that Leigh Day and disgraced lawyer Phil Shiner, who also used the firm, knew that the claims were false.
The source told the Sun: 'I was personally responsible for collecting the documents from the people and I found many were not detained by British forces.
'Many of them had documents referring to the American forces at that time, especially at Um Qasar jail â€" Camp Bucca.
'But they cannot sue them, so they say, 'OK, let's make it the British'. They knew they were fake claims. Everybody knows, believe me, ever ybody knows.
'Clients were urged to hide any stories concerning involvement of others. It was easy to cheat the MoD with random papers. It was all about the British.
'I was very surprised when I saw people with American papers but they were suing the British.'
A whistle-blower said that claims were exaggerated to get larger payouts for victims
'It was easy money, like taking a piece of cake. Every one of us were looking at the British treasure.'
The Sun also claimed that some of the alleged abuses were exaggerated to secure larger pay-outs for the victims.
Iraqis were coached by the firms' agents â€" and lied on their claims forms and IHAT investigators during interviews about the allegations.
The source added: 'We depended on exaggeration of what happened. For example, if someone got a slap on the face, we made it a gun. He has been hit on his face by a gun or a wooden stick.
The MoD paid out £20million in compensation to more than 300 Iraqi claimants to avoid court hearings
'We depend on exaggeration. We want to make it as much of a tragedy as much as possible to obtain more money from the British. It was very easy.'
The MoD paid out £20million in compensation to more than 300 Iraqi claimants to avoid court hearings and spent more than £100million on legal fees.
Last night an MoD spokesman said: 'No compensation has been paid to any former detainee without evidence that they were held by UK Forces and we will continue to vigorously defend opportunistic claims against our troops.
'We have provided evidence that has led to one lawyer being struck off for abusing the legal system and have announced the closure of IHAT.'
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