Defence official to front Iraq inquiry

March 29, 2005

From: Agence France-Presse

A FORMER Australian defence official who sparked controversy by claiming he personally interrogated Iraqi prisoners will front a Senate inquiry today.

Rod Barton is expected to be the first witness quizzed by a Senate committee in Canberra, set up to inquire claims Australians interrogated Iraqi prisoners.

Mr Barton ignited the row over Australian involvement in interrogation of Iraqi prisoners last month when he claimed on ABC TV's Four Corners program he had been involved.

Mr Barton was a member of the US-led Iraq Survey Group (ISG) which led a fruitless hunt for weapons of mass destruction after coalition forces invaded Iraq two years ago.

His claims directly contradicted Defence Minister Robert Hill who told parliament in June last year Australians had no role in interrogating prisoners.

The Senate inquiry will also examine whether reports on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction were censored.

Prisoner interrogations were a focus of Senate estimates hearings in February, with the government sticking to a line that Australians attached to the ISG were specifically barred from involvement in interrogations.

The government maintained that what occurred were interviews.

The committee must report back to the Senate by June 21.

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