By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent
Allegations of torture and murder, made against British soldiers by former Iraqi prisoners, are "wholly without foundation" a major investigation has concluded.
The Al Sweady Inquiry, which has cost the taxpayer £25m and taken five years, found accusations of war crimes were "entirely the product of deliberate lies, reckless speculation and ingrained hostility".
At the heart of the judge-led inquiry, the largest of its kind, was the claim that 20 or more Iraqis were unlawfully killed and mutilated after the so-called Battle of Danny Boy on 14th May 2004.
However, these claims were withdrawn earlier this year but the inquiry continued to examine claims British troops mistreated Iraqi detainees in their custody.
During the battle soldiers from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were ambushed by a number of insurgents and a fierce four-hour battle followed.
The Inquiry Chairman, Sir Thayne Forbes, noted that the British soldiers responded to the ambush with "exemplary courage, resolution and professionalism".
After the firefight British soldiers took the usual step of taking the bodies to base because they the military wanted to see if the prime suspect in the murder of six Royal Military Policeman in June 2003 was among the dead.
The bodies of 20 of them were recovered and taken back to Camp Abu Naji in southern Iraq. A further nine Iraqis were captured.
It was claimed some of the dead Iraqis were actually killed while in detention rather than on the battlefield. The prisoners claimed they were abused and tortured in custody by British soldiers.
The inquiry found no evidence of this and concluded the prisoners colluded to discredit the British Army.
However, the army did not escape criticism. Sir Thayne found there had been instances of ill-treatment during "tactical questioning" of the detainees on the night of May 14/15.
The inquiry found the prisoners were blindfolded or deprived of their sight for an unacceptable amount of time and not fed properly.
The former High Court judge also criticised British soldiers for "tasteless trophies" such as striking poses for photos with detainees but said none of the behaviour amounted to war crimes.
The inquiry, which is named after 19-year-old Hamid al Sweady, who died in British custody, received evidence from 610 witnesses.
The Defence Secretary Michael Fallon will comment on the conclusions of the inquiry this afternoon. He has been critical of the increasing cost and urged courts to treat compensation claims from Iraqi prisoners robustly.
Mr Fallon is expected to sharply criticise the legal teams acting for the Iraqis.
The report does makes nine recommendations for the British military including recording interrogations, making proper prisoner medical examinations and keeping records and making sure there are sufficient interpreters.
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