Harsh Approach Parameters
Baha Mousa Inquiry · The Report of the Baha Mousa Inquiry - Volume III · Issued 8 September 2011 · Addressed to: Ministry of Defence
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
To the extent that the MoD considers that the harsh approach can still lawfully be used in interrogation: (1) there is a need for very clear guidance to be given within the interrogation policy; (2) the approach should be given a label which is less apt to be misinterpreted; (3) the approach should not include an analogy with a military drill sergeant; (4) specific Ministerial approval should be sought before the harsh approach is approved for use in any operational theatre.
Baha Mousa Inquiry, The Report of the Baha Mousa Inquiry - Volume III · 8 Sep 2011 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The specific content of interrogation policy is contained within classified military documents not publicly available for independent verification.
Response — verbatim from government
●Ministry of Defence
Accepted. Guidance on the harsh approach has been clarified, renamed, and requires Ministerial approval for operational use.
Ministry of Defence · 8 Sep 2011 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
No published activity has been recorded against this recommendation yet.
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How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.