Hundreds of new cases accusing British soldiers of abusing - in many cases torturing - Iraqi men, women and children aged from 13 to 101, are to be considered by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Britain is already under scrutiny for alleged war crimes committed by its forces in Iraq. The ICC is examining a dossier of claims presented by lawyers and human rights campaigners earlier this year, which could lead to a full investigation.
The fresh details come on the eve of the publication of an official report into allegations that British soldiers mistreated and unlawfully killed Iraqis in 2004.
Pressure is mounting on David Cameron to order a full judicial inquiry into what Britain knew about torture by the CIA and other allies fighting al-Qaeda-inspired terror. Yesterday the SNP called for a full judicial inquiry to examine the UK's role in extraordinary rendition and for the findings of the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war to be made public.
The latest cases include harrowing accounts covering a five-year period, from 2003 to 2008. The allegations, in court documents, highlight a systematic approach of beating and hooding before people were brutally interrogated after government ministers claimed this was no longer used by British forces in Iraq.
