The Mirror has published more allegations of British abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

The paper says a third solider has come forward to accuse rogue troops from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment of torturing Iraqi captives and has given the Military Police full details of the attacks.

Commenting on the claims yesterday, Tony Blair said that any abuse was unacceptable. He declared: "We went to Iraq to stop that kind of thing, not to do it ourselves."

Meanwhile, the Commons foreign affairs committee yesterday warned the government that it should clarify the legal status of troops and their prisoners in Iraq.

Blair's intervention came as President Bush apologised for the first time for the "humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners and the humiliation suffered by their families".

The release of more pictures of US troops stripping and humiliating prisoners has led to fresh calls for resignations - with Donald Rumsfeld topping the roll call - in Washington.