The Central Command official also said that until last fall, commanders did not have an interrogation policy specific to Iraq.

Paul Charlton was removed for his action relating to a death penalty case and unilateral implementation of an interrogation policy.

By mid-October last year, interrogation policy in Iraq had changed three times in less than 30 days, the report found.

"We are concerned that the ongoing secrecy around the government's detainee and interrogation policy is something that's enabling abuse to continue."

Senior uniformed lawyers in all the military services also objected sharply to the interrogation policy, according to internal documents declassified last year.

"Detainee operations and interrogation policies have been scrutinized under a microscope, from all different angles," she said.

It was not long before this interrogation policy was underpinning MI5's relationship with some of the world's most notorious intelligence agencies.

Straw, as foreign secretary at the time the interrogation policy was drawn up, was responsible for MI6.

It is clear Blair was signalling a change in the interrogation policy.

That concern was recently heightened when high-level administration officials seemed in public testimony to sidestep responsibility for shaping interrogation policies.