THE Army officer in charge of investigating abuse of civilians by British forces in Iraq has been found dead, it was revealed yesterday.
Royal Military Police Captain Ken Masters, 40, is believed to have killed himself. His body was found on Saturday evening.
An army colleague is said to have made the grim discovery in Waterloo Lines camp within the main British military base at Basra airport.
Ministry of Defence sources said last night it is not believed Capt Masters had left a suicide note and it is not yet known how he died. No firearms are believed to have been involved.
The married father-of-two is not believed to have been suffering from depression, mental illness or physical injury and had not been due to appear as a witness in any cases relating to mistreatment.
Capt Masters, who had served with the Royal Military Police since 1981, was commissioned from the ranks in 2001.
A spokesman for the British Forces in Basra said last night: "The commanding officer of 61 Section Special Investigations Branch Captain Ken Masters was found dead at a military establishment. It is under investigation and until this is complete it would be inappropriate for me to comment. It was not due to any hostile action. It was not down to natural causes."
The Ministry of Defence confirmed the captain was "responsible for investigating all in-theatre serious incidents".
Army sources at Basra air base confirmed military police are not looking for anybody else in relation to his death.
A military source said: "This has come as a total surprise to Ken's forces colleagues."
On early Saturday evening troops in Basra were confined to barracks after a "no personnel or vehicle movement" order was delivered by Tannoy.
A search of the camp was ordered and ranks were told not to leave their tents. It is not known if the alert is related to the death of Capt Masters.
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