The alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American and British troops provoke "shame and disgust," a British minister said Monday.
Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt also said that any British soldier found to have abused Iraqi detainees would be treated "with the utmost severity."
"Anyone who sees the pictures and hears the stories of what some soldiers, American and possibly British, have been doing to Iraqi prisoners, feels I think shame and disgust," Hewitt told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Prime Minister Tony Blair on Sunday apologized for any abuses committed by British troops in Iraq, but insisted that the allegations, if true, only applied to a small number of soldiers.
Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon planned to make a statement to the House of Commons later Monday about the allegations of abuse.