The armed forces minister has told MPs they should await the outcome of an inquiry into the treatment of Iraqi prisoners before before making judgements on British troops.

Adam Ingram used a Commons statement on Tuesday to praise the work of soldiers in Iraq, despite the allegations of abuse which emerged last week.

The Ministry of Defence has commissioned an inquiry into the Mirror newspaper's pictures, with doubts surrounding their authenticity.

Speaking in the Commons, Ingram insisted it "would be wrong to prejudice this inquiry".

"If British soldiers are found to have acted unlawfully, then appropriate action will be taken," he said.

"We are determined to leave no stone unturned," he added.

"Any decent thinking person will have been disturbed by photographs published in the Daily Mirror on Saturday, which appear to show the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by British soldiers.

"From the outset, we have taken the allegations seriously and taken the photographs at face value and will continue to do so unless there is evidence to the contrary.

"While treating these allegations with full seriousness, we should not allow them to colour our judgment of the quality or integrity of our troops or of the Army as a whole."

Reaction

Shadow defence secretary Nicholas Soames said the allegations were "more shocking because of the outstanding reputation of the British armed forces".

He pressed the minister on what training troops were given to deal with detainees.

Liberal Democrat spokesman Paul Keetch agreed that there were "serious doubts about the authenticity of these pictures".

However he asked when the inquiry would report and when "questions would be answered" on proven allegations of American abuse of prisoners.