Phil Shiner was on a crusade; a mission it seemed to tear apart the reputation of the British Armed Forces.

In 2004, the human rights lawyer, vehemently opposed to the Iraq war, had stumbled across evidence of abuse committed by British troops in and around Basra where they were supposed to be keeping the peace.

Undoubtedly, things had gone wrong and at least one Iraqi – a hotelier called Baha Mousa – had died in the custody of British troops, beaten to death in an episode that shamed the military.

But rather than a one-off or at least a rarity, Shiner was convinced the death of Mr Mousa was simply the tip of a very, very large iceberg.

By the end of the decade – if Shiner and his clients were to be believed – UK troops, rather than maintaining law and order, had committed atrocities on an industrial scale.