"Iraqi claimants 'conspired' to win compensation hand-outs, hears inquiry"

Quote

Iraqis who accused British troops of taking part in torture and unlawful killing were part of a conspiracy to win compensation payments and pervert the course of justice, a public inquiry has heard.

Lawyers for the Ministry of Defence and British personnel in the long-running Al-Sweady inquiry said nine Iraqis who made the claims had “exaggerated” their accounts and were driven by financial motives.

It also heard for the first time that a key document was not disclosed during earlier legal proceedings by lawyers for the Iraqi claimants which could have “stopped the public inquiry in its tracks”.

The four-year inquiry, examining claims of illegal activity by British soldiers after they were ambushed by insurgents in May 2004, has already cost the taxpayer £27 million and taken live evidence from nearly 300 witnesses.

read more here - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10770930/Iraqi-claimants-conspired-to-win-compensation-hand-outs-hears-inquiry.html

I wonder how much the US has paid out in similar cases? Cost to taxpayers? How many settlements do not make the news?