Reid urges media not to 'undermine troop morale'
Matthew Tempest, political correspondent
Monday February 20 2006
The Guardian


The defence secretary, John Reid, today warned the media and legal professions not to undermine the morale of the armed forces, in the wake of the row over footage of British soldiers allegedly beating unarmed Iraqis.

In a combative speech Dr Reid said soldiers were now operating under an "uneven playing field of scrutiny", with actions liable to be caught on "one mobile phone" on one hand, and a perception there was a "legal culture" back home ready to sue them.

His remarks, to the war studies department at King's College, London, came on the day of the funeral of the 100th British soldier to be killed in Iraq and also coincided with a surpise visit to Iraq by the foreign secretary Jack Straw who flew into Baghdad tonight for talks with political leaders. 

Dr Reid said terrorists were now using the media in attempt to undermine national morale, in remarks immediately backed up by Downing Street.

Mr Blair's official spokesman told reporters: "We need to be aware that the terrorists we are up against do use the media to manipulate public opinion, not just in Iraq but also in this country.

"It is quite right and proper for John Reid to paint in that whole picture."

As billed in advance, Dr Reid called on the media to view any allegations of abuse in the context of 1,000s of unreported acts of "lives enhanced and good done by our forces", and called on the press to be "a little slower to condemn and a lot quicker to understand".

Going on to say many of the problems of perception of the armed services came from ignorance - pointing out that it was now 45 years since the last conscripted soldier left the forces - Dr Reid cautioned both the press and the legal profession.

Turning to lawyers, Dr Reid said that soldiers "have been left confused and unsettled by the perception that human rights lawyers and international bodies such as the international criminal court are waiting in the wings to step in and act against them".

"And they believe that there has been an exponential growth in the numbers of lawyers actively looking for cases to bring against British troops by promising potential clients significant compensation payments."

He adds; "The legal profession can't always grasp the significance [soldiers' fears] because they have no experience of being in those situations."

In the same speech, Dr Reid referred, obliquely, to the ongoing row over the mobile phone footage of British troops apparently beating Iraqis.

Today it was reported that two Iraqis will be charged with attempted murder in relation to the riots which precipitated the attacks at al Amarah in 2004. The claim came in the Daily Mirror, but a spokeswoman for the ministry of defence said it was a matter for the local Iraqi police.

Dr Reid told an audience of students and defence experts that "one observer, with one videophone, or today even one mobile phone, standing in one square metre of a vast and hugely complex theatre of operations can convey an oversimplified and sometimes misleading picture with an impact that is incalculable."

"Real time media scrutiny of war, on a scale and a level of intrusiveness inconceivable only a few decades ago."

He develops that argument to say that al-Qaida "sees the free western media as a virtual battleground in itself - where the swaying of public opinion away from support for our campaigns, can be the path to a swift victory, a quick way of undermining our public morale."

"The terrorists have become adept at using the media to their ends. It is the media's responsibility to ensure that in reporting the facts, which it can and must do, it does not fall victim to this campaign."

Dr Reid concluded that it was the "very exceptional nature of the offences which make them headlines. But wouldn't it be nice, wouldn't it be fair, if the contribution of the 100,000 good and brave acts and beliefs were given equal prominence to the offences of the few."

The worst images of UK troop abuse of Iraqis, in the Daily Mirror, were established as fakes. However, the other two major controversies - this week's mobile phone footage, and the pictures of an Iraqi hanging from a forklift truck and being stood on by a British soldier - appear to have come to light with little media investigation. The first emerged after a soldier took the photographs to be developed, and the police were alerted. The mobile phone footage was apparently taken by a fellow soldier who is heard egging the soldiers on.

In an unscripted remark, Dr Reid even suggested that if Lord Haw Haw, the Irish propagandist for the Nazis, were alive today, he would be given a weekly column in the newspapers.

Dr Reid's speech was given full endorsement by Number 10. Mr Blair's spokesman said: "John Reid is in no way saying that we should condone or that we do condone abuse."

"Equally, however, what he is saying is that we should keep those cases in perspective. The fact is that in Iraq there are five allegations of abuse. That is five cases too many, but given the number of troops, that is the perspective it should be seen in."

Mr Reid's call has already been backed by the shadow chancellor, George Osborne.

"I've got a brother-in-law who has served in Iraq for a year and the British troops are under enormous pressure," he said yesterday.

"I think they are doing a fantastic job. As far as I can tell incidents like the video film we have seen are isolated and I think we do have to understand the pressure they are under.

Meanwhile, the House of Lords will today begin hearing an appeal by peace protestors arguing the Iraq war was a crime of aggression - in defence of their actions attempting to disrupt the armed forces, both at RAF Fairford and at an MoD base in Southampton.

The claim their direct action was lawful because it was an attempt to stop a greater crime.

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