By
TREVOR KAVANAGH
Political Editor
THE
BBC was under fire last night for its plan to put Britain in the dock for
so-called war crimes in a bizarre show trial.
Newsnight
will stage the mock courtroom drama tomorrow despite fears over the fate of
British hostage Norman Kember.
International
lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, a lifelong campaigner against the death penalty
and leading anti-war critic, will take the lead role.
The
“court” will hear claims about British and American atrocities in the Iraq
war and the treatment of prisoners. Producers admit they have deliberately
chosen a provocative title for the show, Allies On Trial.
It
coincides with crucial elections in Iraq — the first of their kind in the
Middle East.
The
drama will use ex-Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzem Begg as the key witness for
the prosecution. Others include Col Tim Collins, a critic of the allies’
postwar strategy.
The
defence will be mounted by Old Bailey barrister John Cooper, who represented
the families in the Deepcut Army deaths inquiry.
Author
William Shawcross, who wrote the pro-war book Allies, last night rejected an
invitation to appear as a witness.
He
said: “I refused because it is inappropriate for important issues like this
to be dealt with as trial by entertainment. This is a travesty of a political
show trial.”
But
Newsnight news editor Peter Barron insisted: “People keep hearing claims
that the allies are guilty of war crimes. They want to know what laws have
been broken.
“We
will be putting forward very even-handed evidence.”
FAMILY