BAHA-29 Response Accepted

Medical Personnel Role

Recommendation

Armed Forces medical personnel can and should be involved in providing advice that a CPErS is not fit for detention or questioning. Alternatively, the medic may validly advise that no specific intervention different from the normal process is required. Medics should not advise that a CPErS is fit for detention or fit for questioning.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- The Defence Secretary stated on 8 September 2011 that the government accepted this recommendation and stated that the role of medical personnel had been clarified to focus on identifying unfitness for detention or questioning rather than certifying fitness (Government Response to the Baha Mousa Inquiry, Ministry of Defence, September 2011).
- Joint Doctrine Publication 1-10 (Captured Persons) was first published on 1 October 2011, shortly after the Baha Mousa Inquiry report (8 September 2011), and has since been updated to a Fourth Edition published 28 September 2020, incorporating lessons from the Baha Mousa and Al-Sweady inquiries as well as Supreme Court judgments (JDP 1-10, Fourth Edition, Ministry of Defence, September 2020).
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by Claude (Anthropic) on 10 Apr 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
This recommendation applies across many organisations. The evidence above reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Accepted
Accepted Ministry of Defence
08 Sep 2011

Accepted. The role of medical personnel has been clarified to focus on identifying unfitness rather than certifying fitness.

Read Full Response
Source
Report The Report of the Baha Mousa Inquiry - Volume III 08 Sep 2011
Responsible Bodies
Ministry of Defence Primary
Recommendation age 14.7 yrs
Last formal update 5013 days ago