McGrath said, "There has to be a suspicion about what the two arrested men were up to. Perhaps they were not engaged in some kind of dirty tricks operation, such as have frequently taken place in other conflict situations, but the fact that they were apparently members of the British Army is not sufficient in itself to eliminate such suspicions, and some kind of independent investigation would be appropriate."

The man in charge of that investigation was found dead, apparent suicide although he was due to go home in a couple of weeks.

"The pressures in Basra reached a new intensity in the last weeks of Captain Masters' life, when British forces found themselves increasingly engaged in action against Shia militias. Just a few weeks ago, troops faced local police heavily infiltrated by the militia and a violent crowd which, according to the British military, was also orchestrated by the militia."