A former soldier convicted in connection with the death of an Iraqi hotel worker has accused an officer of pretending to set a young detainee on fire and claimed that every member of his unit committed abuses against civilians during the war.

Donald Payne, a former corporal and the first member of the Armed Forces to be convicted of a war crime, told a public inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa, a hotel receptionist, that he covered-up prisoner abuses when interviewed in 2003-2004 because of “misguided loyalty”.

He claimed to have witnessed a former Lieutenant, Craig Rodgers, place a jerry can of petrol filled with water in front of an Iraqi boy and pour the liquid over him before lighting a match.

Having previously denied using excessive violence in interviews, Payne spoke about a culture of brutality against prisoners at the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment.

"I now disclose that in adopting the routine I did each time I returned to the temporary detention facility to ensure the detainees were awake, the degree of force I applied was greater than I have so far admitted. Moreover at one time or another I saw all the members of the multiple in call sign emulate me, “ he said.

Mr Mousa, 26 died in Basra, southern Iraq, on September 15 2003 while in the custody of the regiment, having suffered 93 separate injuries.

Last week the inquiry heard evidence from other members of the squad who named the men they thought were responsible for the violence. Garry Reader, a former Private, identified Payne and Aaron Cooper. Mr Reader told the inquiry that he entered the building where Mr Mousa was held.

Payne said he saw every member of the unit commanded by Lieutenant Rodgers, known by the call sign G10A, "forcefully kick and/or punch" the group of Iraqi detainees that included Mr Mousa.

Mr Rodgers, who left the Army in 2007, strongly denied allegations of prisoner abuse when he gave evidence to the inquiry last week. He said: "I did not hit, punch, kick or physically assault any of the detainees at any time."

Witnesses have told the inquiry that they previously lied to protect Payne by saying the Iraqi prisoner accidentally banged his head during a scuffle.

Mr Cooper, a former private, gave an account for the first time last week of how Payne allegedly violently abused Mr Mousa just before he died. He said in a statement: "He seemed to completely lose his self-control. He started to lash out wildly, punching and kicking Baha Mousa’s ribs.

"Corporal Payne also certainly kicked Baha Mousa’s head, which rebounded off the wall. It was the right side of his head as his body was facing the doorway. He also grabbed Baha Mousa’s head and banged it hard against the wall."

Payne also accused Lieutenant-Colonel Jorge Mendonca, the commanding officer of 1st Battalion Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, of being "gung-ho" and "somewhat trigger-happy" during his spell in Iraq in 2003. He told the inquiry of one occasion where Lieutenant-Colonel Mendonca held a gun to a prisoner’s face and threatened to "blow his face off".

Payne said he beat the prisoners because he wrongly believed that they were linked to the deaths of six soldiers with the Royal Military Police in Iraq in June 2003.

Payne, who was cleared of charges of manslaughter and perverting the course of justice, was dismissed from the Army and sentenced to one year in a civilian jail after pleading guilty to inhumane treatment in September 2006.

At the time his lawyer described him as a “sacrificial lamb” and alleged that other troops were also responsible for the abuse. Six other soldiers who faced the court martial were cleared on all counts in March 2007.

The inquiry continues.

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