Abuse video soldier speaks out

Martin Webster resigned from the army

A former British solider who filmed Iraqi prisoners being beaten up, apparently by fellow soldiers, has admitted he became a "monster of war".

Martin Webster, from Cornwall, shot the footage at an army base in 2004. It emerged publicly in 2006.

Mr Webster, who was heard laughing and jeering on the video, was arrested and questioned over the incident and later resigned from the army.

He said when he made the film his state of mind "wasn't right".

You're taken to a place where the devil inside of you comes out and it's the only way to survive Martin Webster

Speaking to BBC News, the former corporal said: "The footage itself I find very difficult to listen to.

"It brings a lot of bad memories, probably because it's the ultimate humiliation of yourself."

Mr Webster, who can be heard on the video as he provides a commentary of the assault, added: "You're in a state of mind after no sleep, exposed to extreme violence, lack of water and very heavy equipment and you lose your head.

"You're taken to a place where the devil inside of you comes out and it's the only way to survive," he said.

'Lost control'

He said that at the time of the incident he had been removed from the ground and sent to stand on a rooftop by his commander after "losing control" dealing with rioters a short while earlier.

"The previous day I'd seen one of my friends have his toes blown off by one of the grenades that was chucked over the wall.

"I wasn't in any way sympathetic to these people and I just exploded.

"At the time my state of mind wasn't right.

"I went over [to Iraq] because I believed that what we were doing was right and that anything I did that was in the name of the government was right."

He said when he returned to the UK he realised the "error" of his ways and destroyed the video.

Investigation

"I realised that you're in this world for a very short amount of time and you can't go round doing that type of thing - I became a monster of war," he said.

But stills from the video were published in a newspaper in 2006, prompting the Iraqi authorities to call for an immediate investigation.

Mr Webster was arrested by British military police and questioned in connection with the video.

He later resigned from the army and is now a member of Voices of War, a group of former soldiers which questions Britain's involvement in Iraq.

He has made a DVD in an attempt to explain why he made the video and also paints and writes poetry.

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: "The army has concluded its investigation into this case.

"We do not comment on individual cases."