Ihat accuses officer of spreading child porn
CHIEF REPORTER AN ARMY intelligence officer who threatened to expose an Iraqi insurgent as a paedophile has told of his outrage at finding himself at the centre of an investigation into child sex offences.
The retired interrogator was disgusted to be accused of distributing indecent images of children – found on the mobile phone of the Iraqi prisoner – by showing them to three members of his team. The officer, a married father-of-two, was interviewed under caution by private investigators working for the Government’s controversial unit carrying out criminal inquiries into events in Iraq a decade ago. He faces jail if found guilty and would be placed on the sex offenders’ register.
The Iraqi was detained in 2006. Intelligence officers discovered child pornography on his phone and threatened to distribute leaflets containing the images as well as a photograph of the suspect if he did not disclose details of his terror cell.
The troops had no intention of carrying out the threat but produced a mock leaflet to persuade the suspect to talk.
The leaflet was shown to just four people, but the intelligence officer has now been accused of making and distributing child pornography. The officer, who has since retired from the Army and now works in finance, said: “What they are accusing me of is so toxic. It’s an horrific allegation. The investigators told me I am at the heart of a paedophile conspiracy. It is disgusting what they have accused me of.”
The 39-year-old officer was ordered to attend an interview at London’s Charing Cross police station in February this year. He was quizzed by civilian investigators working for the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (Ihat), the controversial unit accused of conducting a witch hunt against war veterans. The Iraqi was detained by British troops after being identified as an insurgent fighting with the Mahdi militia that was terrorising local civilians and targeting British troops. Working under intense pressure to find the other members of the Iraqi’s network, the interrogation team hatched a plan to use the child abuse images found on his phone as leverage.
The British officer said the plan had been approved by superiors and that a video of the subsequent interrogation was sent back to the UK – as were all videos of interrogations – to be scrutinised by headquarters. “If there had been a problem then,” said the officer, “it should have been picked up 10 years ago.” It is understood other members of his team are also facing similar accusations.
The intelligence officer has written to Mark Warwick, the head of Ihat, complaining about his treatment.
In his reply, Mr Warwick wrote: “I accept your observation that this appears to be a prolonged investigation and I understand that this may be having a negative effect on you.
“Regrettably in pursuing essential lines of enquiry we sometimes incur delay that is out of our control.” The case remains open and the officer has received no indication of what will happen next. He could be charged with child sex offences and, if found guilty at court martial, would be jailed for the offence. He would also be placed on the sex offenders’ register.
Johnny Mercer, a Tory MP and former soldier chairing a parliamentary inquiry into Ihat, said: “It is another example of an Ihat investigation that has spiralled beyond anybody’s control. It reinforced my view that Ihat in its current form has grown out of proportion. It is ruining people’s lives.