ISLAMIC leaders demanded last night the swift prosecution of British soldiers caught on video beating Iraqi youths, as the scandal provoked further fury among Muslims.

Organisers of a huge march planned by Muslims for this Saturday said that the newly-disclosed abuse would make it harder to quell rising anger among the young generation.

Tony Blair promised that the allegations would be investigated “very fully indeed” but said that the overwhelming majority of British forces behaved properly and deserved public support.

The Royal Military Police announced an investigation into the three minute, 12 second tape that was handed to the News of the World.

As well as the beating of the four young males, including a child, which followed a riot in southern Iraq in early 2004, another defenceless man is filmed being kicked by soldiers and a civilian corpse is defiled. The beatings are accompanied by a gleeful commentary from the corporal who allegedly filmed the attacks.

All the soldiers were urged by the Ministry of Defence to give themselves up to prevent other regiments being tarnished by speculation.Army sources said that it was not clear which regiment was involved or when the incident was supposed to have happened, despite information provided by the newspaper.

Sir Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said that the images posed a danger to 8,000 British troops already in Iraq and the 3,000 pledged for Afghanistan.

“Incidents like this cause enormous damage to our standing in the Muslim world and also place those British troops who our carrying out their duties conscientiously in greater peril,” Sir Iqbal said. “It is vital that all those soldiers involved in this abuse of the Iraqis are identified speedily.”

Defence sources said that there was serious concern the pictures could provoke a backlash against troops. All units in Iraq were put on alert.

There had been no complaint to the authorities from any of the assaulted Iraqis but the Special Investigations Branch (SIB) of the Royal Military Police is trying to trace them.

One defence source said: “This couldn’t have happened at a worse time, what with all the Muslim anger over the newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. We have been making good progress in our relations with Iraqis in Iraq but this controversy will set things back.”

The MoD was unaware of the incident until the video was handed over on Friday. SIB was immediately called in but after examining the footage was unable to identify the unit. Defence sources said that the newspaper had given the investigators the name of a unit, but that it was not clear whether this was the right one.

The incident is believed to have happened in early 2004 when there was a rotation of British troops: in April 1st Mechanised Brigade was taking over from 20th Armoured Brigade. Regiments in southern Iraq included the 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, The Staffordshire Regiment, the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Light Infantry and The Queen’s Royal Hussars.

The SIB investigators have contacted commanding officers of all units deployed in Iraq in 2004, seeking evidence of incidents that might fit the footage.

The video footage matches descriptions of riots in Amarah in January 2004 when British troops drove back a crowd of screaming protestors.

Scotland Yard was already facing a policing headache at the prospect of 50,000 protestors descending on London.

The Muslim Action Committee, created to protest against cartoons, is behind the march. Raqeed Sareed, a march organiser, said: “This plays back into the hands of those on the fringes.”

Anas Altikriti, former president of the Muslim Association of Britain and an Iraqi, said that he had heard of many similar attacks.

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