MPs called yesterday for a full parliamentary inquiry into the British security company ArmorGroup after allegations made about its operations in Iraq by former employees. Two MPs have issued the call in response to claims that an employee had been told to withhold intelligence from the British armed forces and that the company had exaggerated the numbers of its employees on the ground.

ArmorGroup vigorously contested the claims and said yesterday they were either too vague to be checked or were old and had already been dealt with. The company said it had the best ethical record of any security firm working in the field and had offered the MPs full cooperation in investigating their claims since they were first aired earlier this year.

The most serious allegations have been made by Colin Williamson, 44, a former member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (now the Police Service of Northern Ireland) who joined ArmorGroup in December 2004.

He was in Iraq until summer 2005. As someone who had been used to liaising with the British army during his time with the RUC, he said he was shocked at the way the operation was run.

"My role was to go to certain Iraqi police stations daily in the Basra area. But we were told not to report back any intelligence we picked up there, not to hand it to the British military. Why? Because our bosses and probably, in turn, the FCO [Foreign and Commonwealth Office] didn't want to expose how corrupt and infiltrated by the militia the police were."

Williamson claims he was instructed not to pass on information to the British army even though he believes such intelligence could have been vital. He said he tried to raise the issues with the government on his return from his time in Iraq but had had no success.

Williamson told the Guardian he had an "impeccable source" in the Iraqi police. "He was so well informed that one occasion when he rang he said 'you are about to be attacked at any moment' and before he could put down the phone the mortars came in."

AMSI Net- The Guardian