Colonel cleared of mistreating Iraqis

COLONEL Jorge Mendonca, former commander of the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, has said he was convinced his soldiers did “enormous good” in Iraq.

He was speaking minutes after he, along with four of his men, were cleared of charges that they mistreated civilians in Basra. Col Mendonca, the highest-ranking British serviceman in recent history to face a court martial, said it was a privilege to have been a commander.

He said: “I remain convinced that Queen’s Lancashire did enormous good in the city of Basra in 2003 and every one of my soldiers and officers worked extremely hard under indescribably difficult conditions to make Basra a better place, and I just hope that fact is not forgotten in the aftermath of this trial.”