A recent study, commissioned by a group of leading Personal Injury Lawyers, has said there are thousands of Iraqi citizens wishing to file compensation claims if the Iraq War is declared illegal by the Iraq Inquiry.

The Inquiry has been set up by the Government to review Britain’s role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and to investigate the legality of the war.

If the war is found to be illegal it will mean that anyone injured by British Armed Forces will be able to seek compensation from the British Government.

A spokesman for Direct Claim, a personal injury firm, said they alone had received over two thousand separate claims, ranging from assaults by British Forces on Iraqi soldiers during combat to the bombing and destruction of military installations by the RAF.

One claimant is General Mustafa Al Mahmoud, a former high ranking officer in the Iraqi Army and friend of Saddam Hussein. He is a veteran of the Halabja campaign which successfully killed 3,000 innocent Kurdish villagers with poison gas in 1988. General Mustafa says he was assaulted by the British Army during his capture and is now seeking damages of £50,000.

One Injury Lawyer estimated that the British Taxpayer may have to foot a bill of up to £4bn to cover all claims. However, it is unclear where this money may come from without further tax increases.

Gordon Brown has so far refused to comment on the issue, though the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats have both heavily criticised the Inquiry.