London - British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said on Sunday that the allegations against US-led forces in the leaked Iraq war military documents were “extraordinarily serious”.
Clegg told BBC television that people were waiting for an official response to the “shocking” allegations against US and coalition troops after whistleblowing website WikiLeaks published 400 000 classified US military documents on the war in Iraq.
“We can bemoan how these leaks occurred but I think the nature of the allegations made are extraordinarily serious. They are distressing to read about and they're very serious,” he said.
“I'm assuming the US administration will want to provide its own answer. It's not for us to tell them how to do that.
“Anything that suggests that basic rules of war and conflict and of engagement have been broken or that torture has in any way been condoned are extremely serious and need to be looked at.
“People will want to hear what the answer is to what are very, very serious allegations of a nature which I think everybody will find quite shocking.”
Liberal Democrat party leader Clegg has said he believes the British decision to join the March 2003 US-led invasion was illegal. - Sapa-AFP