An Iraqi accused of crimes against humanity after treating prisoners tortured by Saddam Hussein’s regime has won his claim for UK asylum after a court effectively ruled he had little choice.

The 54-year-old faced the choice of either treating prisoners who had suffered torture - with the unintended effect of making them physically able to endure another bout of torture - or leaving them to suffer and potentially die from their wounds.

Despite being initially refused asylum because of his role working for the Al-Istikhbarat, Saddam Hussein's military intelligence agency, an appeal court has ruled there was no evidence he had himself tortured prisoners or contributed to their torture.

The medic, identified only as MAB, left Iraq in December 1995 and travelled to Libya, where he worked as a doctor under the regime of Colonel Gaddafi, before coming to the UK in January 2000. He waited until 2007 before he making an asylum claim.

But after an investigation by the war crimes unit of the Home Office Border Agency he was denied refugee protection on the grounds that while working as a doctor he had “committed crimes against humanity.”

Although he was not accused of directly carrying out acts of torture, his role meant he had treated prisoners who he knew might face further torture.