LONDON, 07 November 2021, (TON): The UK Ministry of Defence has settled 417 compensation claims related to the Iraq war, paying several million pounds to resolve accusations that Iraqis endured cruel and inhumane treatment, including arbitrary detention and assault, at the hands of UK troops.

The claims settled this year means that individual claims that have been settled since the invasion in 2003 run into the low tens of thousands.

The 417 settled this year came after High Court rulings found there were breaches of the Geneva Conventions and the Human Rights Act by British forces in Iraq.

Martyn Day, a senior partner with Leigh Day, the solicitors who brought the action, told The Guardian: “While we’ve had politicians like David Cameron and Theresa May criticising us for supposedly ambulance chasing, the MoD has been quietly settling claims. The settlements here cover a mix of cases, instances of false imprisonment, assault.

“What this shows is that when it comes to what amounts to policing in a foreign state, the military are simply not the right people to do it.”

One of the cases involved the death of a 13-year-old boy. Other court proceedings remain highly confidential.