§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach):My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Geoffrey Hoon) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
Honourable Members will recall the harrowing images broadcast by Al Jazeera television in March last year, which showed the bodies of two British soldiers—Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth and Sapper Luke Allsopp. There were indications that one or both of the soldiers may not have died in combat, and as a result we launched a Special Investigation 42WS Branch inquiry. Although it would not be appropriate for me to comment in detail on the evidence collected so far, it continues to point to the possibility that one or both soldiers may have been murdered.
Honourable Members may also recall the tragic deaths of six RMP soldiers in Al Majarr Al Kabir last June. Against the backdrop of an extremely challenging environment, an SIB investigation into that incident has also been making progress.
Last year, the Coalition Provisional Authority established the Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCCI) to exercise jurisdiction over all criminal offences referred to it by the administration in Iraq, which were committed there since 19 March 2003. The CCCI follows the investigative model, prevalent in the rest of Europe, whereby an investigative court directs and oversees the investigation and, where appropriate, refers the matter to a trial court.
If these cases are to be pursued through the CCCI, then it is important that the concluding phases of the investigations are conducted under the court's direction, to ensure compliance with the rules and procedures of the court. This will have particular impact in respect of the admissibility of evidence. I have therefore agreed that it would be appropriate for the CCCI to be invited to take on these cases. To that end, translations of the cases developed so far have been passed to the CCCI. If the CCCI adopts the cases, we will, of course, support it in any way we can in taking the investigations forward.
The CCCI represents the best prospect of dealing with such cases in an expeditious and fair manner, as Iraqi law has a bar to extraditing its own nationals to a foreign state, including the UK.
Whatever the outcome of these cases, I would like to pay tribute to the efforts of the SIB senior investigating officers and their teams for their hard work.
The families of the eight soldiers are being kept informed of progress with the investigations. Our thoughts and sympathies remain with them.