British Government accused of 'cover up' over Iraq injuries

LONDON - The British Government has been accused of hiding the true human cost of the Iraq war by failing to reveal the extent of debilitating injuries suffered by soldiers.

While it is well documented that 98 service personnel have died in the conflict, little has been said of the men who have lost limbs and eyes or suffered burns in the same attacks.

The Ministry of Defence has conceded that 4017 personnel have been medically evacuated from Iraq, but it has repeatedly hidden behind the information privacy laws to provide a greater picture of the wounded.

Almost three years after the invasion, the military insist that the figures have not been collated.

"This is not good enough. The public and our servicemen and women deserve to have a much clearer picture of what is happening in Iraq. People won't understand why the Government has so far been unable to provide informative statistics on casualties sustained in Iraq," said the shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox.

"The MoD must already hold records on the natures of injuries. If the US Department of Defence can provide similar figures for those US personnel injured in Iraq, then so should the MoD."

Insisting that the MoD was not "covering up", a spokesman added that it was hoping to publish greater detail of serious injuries by the end of the week.

- INDEPENDENT