Ann Clwyd MP responds to the article by Brendan O'Neill in which he cast doubt on the plastic shredder story:
Brendan O'Neill... believes that I made "uncorroborated and quite amazing claims" about the existence of a shredding machine used as a method of execution in Saddam Hussein's prisons.Brendan O'Neill was told by my office, but chose not to include in his article, the following information. In his statement, the witness who said that people were killed by the shredder was very specific: he named individuals who he said were killed in the shredder and the individuals who he said supervised the execution by shredder; he stated where the shredder was located and the month and year when the executions took place. The witness was closely questioned by Indict researchers and was described by them as being "unshakeable". He said he is also prepared to testify in court about the incident.
This witness statement was taken by Indict, the organisation which I chair. Indict has collected evidence to be used in the prosecution of senior members of the former Iraqi regime for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Indict researchers worked to the high standards of admission of evidence of the English and Welsh courts, under the guidance of Queen's counsel. Extensive enquiries were always made to corroborate information provided in witness statements.
Indict, for obvious reasons, took witness statements on the basis of confidentiality. All witnesses who signed their statements did so, however, in the full knowledge that they could be liable to legal prosecution if they had stated anything they knew to be false or did not believe was true.