British troops accused of breaking the law will face "robust" prosecution under a reformed military justice system, the new head of armed forces prosecutions said yesterday.

British troops accused of breaking the law will face "robust" prosecution under a reformed military justice system, the new head of armed forces prosecutions said yesterday.

But Bruce Houlder QC, the first civilian to hold the post, indicated there would be leeway for "young soldiers acting to the best of their ability who make a terrible mistake". He used an interview with a newspaper to criticise some of the soldiers who gave evidence to the court martial over the death of Iraqi hotel receptionist Baha Mousa in British Army custody in 2003.

"Witnesses forgot where their loyalties lay. They thought their loyalty lay with the soldiers on trial, not with the regiment as a whole," he said.

Seven soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment were prosecuted.

All but one were cleared on all counts in March 2007.

Corporal Donald Payne was dismissed from the Army and jailed for a year after admitting a charge of inhuman treatment of Iraqi civilians.

Mr Houlder said the collapse of courts martial like this had given an "unfair impression" of prosecutors.

He said: "No-one has been able to show that it was the failure of the prosecution service that led to those results."

Mr Houlder, a former criminal barrister, formally became the first Director of Service Prosecutions yesterday.

He heads the new Service Prosecuting Authority, which replaces the previous separate prosecuting authorities for the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.

Mr Houlder said he wanted closer links between prosecutors and military investigators.

A major public inquiry into Mr Mousa's death is due to start in late spring.

Attorney General Baroness Scotland has agreed that evidence soldiers give to the inquiry will not be used against them in criminal proceedings.

Mr Mousa, 26, was working as a receptionist at Basra's Ibn Al Haitham hotel in September 2003 when it was raided by British forces.

Mr Mousa and several of his colleagues were taken to the British military base at Darul Dhyafa. While in custody, the receptionist was beaten to death.

Mr Mousa's 22-year-old wife had died of cancer before his detention, meaning his two young sons were orphaned.