To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost has been of compensation paid by his Department to Iraqi citizens since 2005. (226851)

Since financial year 2005 the Ministry of Defence has paid £6,504,472 in compensation to Iraqi citizens as follows:

The payment made in 2007-08 includes a £2 million payment made to a 13-year-old boy who was shot in the stomach when a member of HM forces negligently discharged his rifle. He sustained severe neurological and spinal injuries resulting in a multi-faceted disability including paralysis in the legs, loss of sensation, loss of bladder control and impairment of bowel control. He will require care for the rest of his life.

The payment made in the current financial year includes £2.83 million paid to the family of Baha Musa and eight other Iraqi civilians following their detention by British Forces during September 2003.