Details of an extraordinary row between two members of Tony Blair’s cabinet are revealed today in a series of confidential letters seen by The Observer.

In the correspondence the Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith, repeatedly raises concerns with the then Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, over the ability of the army to investigate claims of abuse against British soldiers in Iraq.

The Associated Press: 3,663 Iraqis Killed in Past 6 Months

Saturday’s vote on Iraq’s new constitution takes place nearly six months after the country’s first elected government took power, and during that period at least 3,663 Iraqis have been killed in war-related violence, according to an Associated Press count.

BBC News: US troops ’starve Iraqi citizens’

A senior United Nations official has accused US-led coalition troops of depriving Iraqi civilians of food and water in breach of humanitarian law.