What sort of free country is it where the government can just order workers to leave their families and homes and send them to another part of the country? The Iraqi government is using Saddam’s anti-union laws. But weren’t we supposed to be setting the Iraqis free? That’s just a story for children.

The Iraq government is a miserable bunch of quislings. They are in government only because British and American weapons put them there. The occupying imperialists are the real power in Iraq.

The British government is behaving like Pontius Pilate. When questioned about the forced transfer, the Foreign Office says, ‘it’s the law.’ But it’s the dictator Saddam’s law, the law we were supposed to be in Iraq to overthrow.

John Hilary, executive director of War on Want, said: "The Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions has been leading the opposition to the sell-off of Iraq's oil and these members are clearly being targeted for their political actions. We believe the British government should work for the safety of Iraqi trade unionists, not be complicit in their persecution."

In a letter to Howells, he asked: "We would also like you to state whether the British government in any way condones the transfer of trade unionists into dangerous areas as a method of "tackling their activities, whether legal or illegal".

Hassan Juma'a Awad, an IFOU spokesman, claimed the transfer was ordered by Shahristani, the Iraqi Oil Minister, himself. We wonder what he is getting out of giving away his country’s oil. Hassan went on,"Those activists, through their hard work, are well known for fighting corruption and corrupt-ministry gangs in the oil sector," he insisted, adding that the transfer amounted to a "human rights crime". He is right.