British colonel keeps rank despite being branded 'unreliable witness'

A senior army officer described by high court judges as an unreliable witness, and allegedly accused of asking his staff to lie on oath, has retained a top post within the military police, the Ministry of Defence confirmed today.

Colonel Dudley Giles was a key MoD witness in a military police investigation that dismissed claims that British soldiers mutilated and murdered civilians in Iraq. A review by Greater Manchester police subsequently concluded the investigation failed to collect forensic evidence and ignored key Iraqi witnesses.

The inadequate military police investigation into the incident forced the MoD to set up a public inquiry which, it was revealed today, will involve about 400 British military witnesses, and scores of Iraqi witnesses interviewed in a Beirut hotel, at a total cost of £11m.

The MoD said today that Giles would keep his rank of Deputy Provost Marshal – second in command of the Royal Military Police – despite withering criticism last year from high court judges, but he will no longer be responsible for investigations. Were he to again appear as a witness in similar proceedings, the judges said: "It is our view that any court seized of those proceedings should approach his evidence with the greatest caution."

The comments were made by judges, led by Lord Justice Scott Baker, at a judicial review of the MoD's response to claims that British soldiers killed 20 unarmed Iraqis in May 2004 after they had been involved in a fierce gun battle. The gunfight became known as the Battle of Danny Boy, a British military checkpoint near Majar al-Kabir, north of Basra.

Bob Ainsworth, then defence secretary, offered the court his "profound regrets" about the handling of the case and agreed to set up a public inquiry. The al-Sweady inquiry, named after one of nine Iraqis alleging serious mistreatment by British soldiers, was set up under Sir Thayne Forbes, a former high court judge.

The inquiry's counsel, Jonathan Acton Davis QC, said yesterday that more Iraqi witnesses than anticipated had been found, including an Iraqi who, he said, "was working at the local hospital on 14 May 2004 and travelled to 'Danny Boy' in an ambulance whilst the battle was taking place".

Iraqis are being flown from Basra to Beirut by the inquiry because of the difficulties, including visa restrictions, in bringing them to the UK, British officials said yesterday. The inquiry is now likely to continue into 2012, Acton Davis said.

When Giles was asked last year why he had not referred in a witness statement to a document that disclosed British soldiers had detained between 10 and 12 Iraqis, Giles told the high court that he did so to avoid prejudicing any future prosecution. "When this assertion was examined, it became obvious that it was wholly without foundation," the judges said. Rabinder Singh, QC for the families of the Iraqis, told the high court: "[Giles] did not tell the truth".

Emails, subsequently leaked, allegedly show that Giles told his staff to change their witness statements – asking them to remove claims that they were so overworked that they requested support from additional military police investigators.

In one email, Warrant Officer Paul Terry, of the military police, wrote: "I am not sure what it is I am supposed to be clarifying/explaining without being economical with the truth." He is reported to have added: "I will happily do as ordered, but will not subsequently lie on oath ..."

A group of former Metropolitan police detectives flew to Nigeria this summer to question one of the military police officers about the emails. They were sent to Nigeria on behalf of the al-Sweady inquiry, sources familiar with the case said yesterday. The MoD did not deny the existence of the emails, or the veracity of their content.