WITCH-HUNT AGAINST OUR HEROES

human rights firm Leigh Day, which has faced accusations of hounding British troops with compensation claims.

Documents show Mr Al-Waheed is seeking £98,000 in basic damages, and Mr Alseran £30,000.

Mr Al-Waheed’s claim includes £19,000 for 44 days of imprisonment, £12,000 for assault, £930 for damage to teeth, £15,000 for a back injury and up to £41,675 for psychiatric injuries.

Mr Alseran is claiming up to £5,000 for assault, £525 for physical injuries and £4,450 for posttraumatic stress disorder. They are both also seeking damages under the Human Rights Act, which amount to up to £45,000 for Mr Al-Waheed and £19,000 for Mr Alseran.

In addition, the pair have asked for £24,500 and £7,500 respectively in ‘moral damages’, which ‘reflects the impact of egregious behaviour by a defendant’.

They are also seeking thousands of pounds to cover past and future losses, including loss of earnings, previous travel costs and medical expenses.

In total, Mr Al-Waheed is claiming as much as £232,964 and Mr Alseran as much as £45,789.

While the pair attempt to sue Britain for hundreds of thousands, soldiers injured fighting for the UK receive rather less.

MoD guidance says a fractured skull warrants £5,775 in compensation, while nerve damage could see a payout of £40,000.

Just weeks before Mr AlWaheed’s arrest in 2007, Private Luke Simpson, 21, was killed when an IED (improvised explo- sive device) went off close to his armoured vehicle.

Mr Al-Waheed was suspected of being an insurgent from the Mahdi Army. When soldiers arrived at the property in Basra where he was arrested they found mortars, plastic explosives and IED parts. Giving evidence Captain Gareth Fulton, who led the raid, was adamant the detainee was not assaulted. Mr AlWaheed’s lawyers say his arrest was a case of mistaken identity.

Victims of a toxic waste scandal in Ivory Coast have won a High Court action against British Law firm Leigh Day.

The lawyers represented 30,000 claimants who fell ill after an alleged dump in 2006 by oil giant Trafigura. But some said Leigh Day failed to ensure £6million in settlement cash reached them as it was put into a bank account ‘vulnerable to dishonest claims’.

Leigh Day was yesterday told it had failed in its duty of care. Damages will now be agreed.