Baha Mousa medic 'misled death probes'

Dr Derek Keilloh, appearing before the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), denied any cover-up and claimed he only spotted dried blood around the nose of hotel receptionist Mr Mousa after he was arrested and beaten by British soldiers in Basra in 2003.

Hooded with a sandbag for nearly 24 hours, Mr Mousa suffered 93 separate injuries including fractured ribs and a broken nose while in the custody of the 1st Battalion Queen's Lancashire Regiment at its base at Battle Group Main.

Dr Keilloh, the senior medic on duty and therefore responsible for the welfare of Mr Mousa on the night he died, repeatedly denied any knowledge of such injuries.

The Aberdeen medic previously claimed at a public inquiry into Mr Mousa's death that he had not noticed extensive injuries on the victim's body.

today the panel found the GP, who now works in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, guilty of a series of failures after the death of Mr Mousa and in his subsequent conduct.

The MPTS found that the medic was aware of the injuries to the victim but failed to conduct an adequate examination of the body.

Knowing of the dead man's condition he then failed to assess other detainees or protect them from further mistreatment and tell senior officers what was going on.

The panel said he engaged in "misleading and dishonest" conduct when, at courts martial and a subsequent public inquiry, he maintained under oath he saw no injuries to Mr Mousa's body.

The tribunal will now retire to decide whether his behaviour amounts to misconduct, and if so, what the penalty should be.

The MPTS has the power to suspend or strike off doctors it finds guilty of misconduct.