Mendonca 'out of the loop' on prisoner abuse

A former Army commanding officer insisted today that he knew nothing about alleged abuse of Iraqi detainees by his men.

Colonel Jorge Mendonca said he was not informed of a series of incidents where his prisoners were reportedly ill-treated by soldiers under his command in Iraq in 2003.

Giving evidence to the public inquiry into the death of hotel worker Baha Mousa, he suggested that his officers might have kept him "out of the loop" because of his "reputation for doing things properly".

Col Mendonca also strongly denied a claim by a previous witness that he punched an Iraqi prisoner in front of more than 100 troops.