DEFENCE Secretary Geoff Hoon must resign over the unfolding torture scandal and the rapidly deteriorating situation in Iraq, MEPs demanded today.
In a statement issued today by MEPs and candidates in the forthcoming European elections from across the EU, Euro-MPs Caroline Lucas and Jean Lambert call for the UN and Red Cross to be given full access to Iraqi prisons to investigate allegations of torture, for the International Criminal Court to fully investigate all allegations of crimes against humanity committed by allied forces in Iraq - and for both Hoon and his US counterpart Donald Rumsfeld to resign.
Mrs Lambert, London's Green Party MEP and a member of the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee, said: "The photos and the Red Cross report have brought about a complete breakdown of trust in the ability of the US and UK to deal with the current situation in Iraq.
"The allegations need to be brought out into the open at the International Criminal Court with the likes of Donald Rumsfeld and Geoff Hoon in the dock - not a handful of scapegoated soldiers paying the penalty. Only then can legitimacy be gained in the eyes of the world and rid us of the idea that war crimes prosecutions are only for the less powerful countries."
South-East England's Green Party MEP and vice-president of the Parliament's cross-party group on peace issues Caroline Lucas added: "The images we see coming out of Iraq daily are horrific - there can now be no doubt that Iraqi prisoners are being abused and civilians are being killed by allied forces with apparent impunity.
"The European Council has a responsibility to ensure all EU members uphold international humanitarian and human rights law - and this issue must be a focal point of its next meeting."
ENDS
For more information please contact Ben or Katy on 020 7407 6280, 07973 823358 or at press@greenmeps.org.uk