The UK High Court has heard arguments in a case that alleges British troops had tortured Iraqi civilians in Basra in 2003.

Court martial proceedings began in 2007, with Corporal David Payne facing jail time after pleading guilty to a charge of inhuman treatment.

Ten Iraqi civilians were arrested by UK troops in a Basra hotel in 2004.The troops tortured them and one of the detainees died while in custody, allegedly as a result of abuse.

The British soldiers also face another case in which they are accused of arresting and torturing twenty-two Iraqi military forces. The British soldiers had detained them after ambush on a road between the Iraqi cities of Basra and al-Imarah.