Iraq’s Foreign Minister has called on Britain to investigate allegations of sexual abuse and harassment of Iraqi workers at its embassy in Baghdad.

“This is something the Foreign Office needs to investigate. The embassy has to conduct some investigation. The Foreign Office needs to be involved,” Hoshyar Zebari, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Sharm el-Sheikh.

His comments mark the Iraqi Government’s first public response to allegations made by employees of the American company KBR, which was hired to maintain the British Embassy’s premises in the Green Zone.

An Iraqi cleaner and two cooks employed by KBR told The Times that a culture of sexual harassment, abuse and bullying existed at the embassy.

The cleaner alleged that a British contractor with KBR offered to double her daily pay if she agreed to stay the night with him. After she refused, she said that she was dismissed.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office was told of the allegations last summer and allowed KBR to investigate. The company concluded that there was no case to answer and denied the allegations.

The Iraqi claimants are asking the Foreign Office to reopen their case, saying that the KBR investigation amounted to a conflict of interest.

Mr Zebari said that he did not know whether there was any truth to the workers’ claims, but he pledged to defend the Iraqis’ rights. He said that he would investigate the allegations when he returned to Baghdad this week. “I really don’t know the details but these are my people and it’s my duty to protect them,” he said.

He said that KBR was entitled to conduct its own inquiries, but that there should also be an independent investigation by the British Government. “I think it would be very useful to clear this confusion,” he said. The Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee has written to the Foreign Office to ask for a full explanation.

The complainants said that some managers at KBR groped Iraqi staff and paid or rewarded them for sex. Those who refused or spoke out were punished or dismissed.

Mr Zebari pointed out that the Iraqis had limited options to seek justice within the Iraqi legal system because of the nature of the allegations. “Because of certain social values and relations, they may avoid this.”

Contractors working for the US and British Governments in the Green Zone are immune from prosecution under a provision passed by the Coalition Provisional Authority. The alleged incidents also occurred on embassy premises, which are beyond the jurisdiction of the Iraqi police.

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