The British and American governments have been criticised for failing to investigate the deaths of civilians caught up in the war in Iraq.

Experts in public health from six countries, including the UK and the US, say the attitude of the governments is "wholly irresponsible".

And they say the UK government's reliance on "extremely limited data" from the Iraqi ministry of health is "unacceptable" because it is likely to seriously underestimate the casualties.

The study has been dismissed by the British government as unreliable, partly because the authors admitted that, under the circumstances, it could not be precise.