To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any of the Jaish-al-Mahdi prisoners released under the prisoner release scheme agreed by the British Army and the Iraqi Government had been involved in attacks on British forces. (240443)

[holding answer 8 December 2008]: Under UN Security Council Resolution 1546 and subsequent resolutions, UK forces in Iraq are authorised to detain persons whom they judge to represent an imperative threat to security. This could include members of groups which may have been involved in attacks against Iraqi or coalition forces or have been planning such attacks.

For all individuals detained by UK forces, the decision to release was taken by the Divisional Internment Review Committee on the basis that these individuals no longer represented an imperative threat to security. We do not comment on cases or circumstances relating to individual detainees.