Colonel cleared of mistreating prisoners

Colonel Tim Collins has been cleared by an Army inquiry over claims that he mistreated prisoners of war in Iraq, the Ministry of Defence confirmed yesterday. Colonel Collins, the former commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, who was praised for a rousing speech to his troops on the eve of battle, had been accused by an American reservist of war crimes.

But an inquiry by the Army's Special Investigation Branch found no evidence he had breached the Geneva Convention and he will not face criminal or disciplinary charges. His solicitor said the investigation was the first time in history a battlefield commander had faced such immediate public scrutiny.

"Iraq was, and remains, a dangerous place for the British Army," Lewis Cherry said. "Colonel Collins brought his battle group home safely from the war. He is a professional soldier and will now get on with his career."

Colonel Collins, 43, had been accused by Major Re Biastre in a five-page statement of mistreating prisoners, pistol-whipping a Baath party official and shooting the tyres of a looter's lorry near Basra.

Major Biastre, a school counsellor and part-time traffic policeman, was not a witness to any of the events but said he heard about them while waiting outside the colonel's office after he had argued with an order Colonel Collins had given.

He reported them to his US Army superiors and also complained that British troops referred to President George Bush as a "cowboy" and the Prime Minster as his "poodle".

But other US troops attached to the Royal Irish dismissed the claims, saying Major Biastre held a grudge against Colonel Collins because he gave him a public dressing down after ignoring orders and throwing out sweets to Iraqi children. Colonel Collins felt Major Biastre was putting children's lives at risk by enticing them to run around moving military vehicles.

"The investigation has been concluded and no criminal proceedings will be taken against him," an MoD spokeswoman said yesterday. "No other disciplinary action is contemplated." She said the Americans would be told about the outcome of the investigation. Major Stan Coerr, who led a 21-strong American detachment alongside the Royal Irish in Iraq, yesterday said the inquiry "proved what we knew all along". He added: "The whole thing was motivated by a US officer who didn't know what he was talking about. Everyone knew Colonel Collins was innocent of this. He was very forceful, very aggressive. He was really what an officer should be in the British Army."

Colonel Collins relinquished command of the 1st Battalion Royal Irish when he returned from the Gulf and was promoted from lieutenant-colonel. He is on a temporary posting, working on a Balkans project.

Colonel Collins, from Northern Ireland is married with five children. He was catapulted to fame with his widely admired speech on the eve of fighting and became one of the war's most widely recognised soldiers with his designer sunglasses and cigar clamped between his teeth.

His words earned praise from the Prince of Wales and the US President, who stuck a copy of the speech to the wall of his White House office.

Colonel Collins told his troops: "We go to liberate not to conquer. If you are ferocious in battle, remember to be magnanimous in victory ... You will be shunned unless your conduct is of the highest, for your deeds will follow you down through history."