A senior aide wrote to the prime minster in July 2005 to tell him that the attorney general had met army prosecutors that afternoon to discuss the case against soldiers alleged to have beaten Baha Mousa to death. It was likely the case would proceed to a court martial, wrote Antony Phillipson, the then prime minister's private secretary for foreign affairs, adding: Although if the AG felt that the case were better dealt with in a civil court he could direct accordingly. It must not!
"He was selfish, sadist, and sexually obsessed," Capt. Stephanie Ryder, an Army prosecutor, stated, underscoring Batt's concerning psychological profile and the severity of his crimes.