Soldier faces charges over false Iraqi photos

A soldier will appear before a court martial today over the published fake photographs that appeared to show British troops abusing…

A soldier will appear before a court martial today over the published fake photographs that appeared to show British troops abusing an Iraqi detainees.

Mr Stuart MacKenzie (25) was charged over the hoax, which led to the departure of Daily Mirroreditor Piers Morgan.

The photographs made worldwide headlines in May after purportedly showing British soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment (QLR) abusing hooded  Iraqi prisoners.

Mr Mackenzie, from Haslingden, Lancashire, is in the Territorial Army but went to Iraq attached to the 1st Battalion, QLR. He works for the Inland Revenue.

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His hearing will take place at the Court Martial Centre at Catterick Garrison, near Richmond, in North Yorkshire. Mackenzie can enter a plea and the hearing is expected to be adjourned until a later date.

One picture showed a soldier apparently urinating on a victim as he cowered on the floor.

The newspaper later confirmed it had been hoaxed and printed a front-page apology with a pledge to donate money to charity.

A Royal Military Police inquiry concluded that the type of lorry shown in the shots had never been used in Iraq and was reportedly identified as a lorry based at the Regimental HQ in Preston.

PA