Phillip Patterson provides a commentary on the Al Sweady Inquiry
Shortly before Christmas, the 1,250 page report by Sir Thayne Forbes following the £31m Al Sweady Public Inquiry was laid before Parliament. The Inquiry considered some of the most serious allegations levelled at British troops since the Second World War. Although the report identified some instances of ill-treatment within the evidence, it will be viewed as a powerful and vociferous exoneration of the military.
Battle of Danny Boy
The events with which the inquiry was concerned began on 14 May 2004 with what the military named, the Battle of Danny Boy. In the eyes of the military, the Battle of Danny Boy represented a great success, in which infantry soldiers from the Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment and the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders overcame a large, co-ordinated and deadly ambush by the Mahdi Army on their patrol. On the military account of events, 28 armed insurgents were killed in the battle and nine armed insurgents were taken prisoner and detained in British-run facilities until September of that year. The military asserted that 20 of the
