Inquiry ordered into death of Iraqi worker

By Adrian Croft

LONDON (Reuters) - The government bowed to pressure on Wednesday and said it would open an independent inquiry into the death of an Iraqi hotel worker who was beaten and died in British custody in southern Iraq in 2003.

The decision follows years of legal wrangling in which the family of hotel worker Baha Musa and eight other Iraqis who survived the beatings have sought justice.

All nine suffered 36 hours of violent interrogation before Musa died with 93 injuries, including a broken nose and ribs.

The Ministry of Defence admitted in March that its troops tortured and breached the human rights of the men detained at a Basra hotel, opening the way for potentially large compensation claims. It apologised to Musa's family and the other men.

"After wide consultation ... I have decided that the right thing to do is to establish a public inquiry," Defence Secretary Des Browne said in a statement to parliament.

"Overall, the conduct of tens of thousands of our people in Iraq has been exemplary; it is a tiny number who have caused a stain on the reputation of the British Army," he said.

A judge will be appointed to lead the inquiry and its scope will be announced later. The inquiry report will be published.

The government had resisted calls from Musa's lawyers for an independent, public inquiry, arguing that a court martial over his death last year, which found one soldier guilty of unlawful conduct, was sufficient.