Images of rape and torture are among photographs of abuse at Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq that Barack Obama is blocking from release, a former general claimed today.

One photo reportedly shows an American soldier raping a female prisoner and another was said to show a translator raping a male detainee.

Others are said to depict sexual assaults with objects including a truncheon, wire and a phosphorescent tube.

Retired major-general Antonio Taguba, who oversaw the investigation into abuses at the prison in Baghdad, said he agreed with the president's decision not to release the pictures.

“I am not sure what purpose their release would serve other than a legal one and the consequence would be to imperil our troops, the only protectors of our foreign policy, when we most need them,” he said. “The mere description of these pictures is horrendous enough, take my word for it.”

The prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib exploded after photos taken by soldiers appeared in 2004. The latest images were included in Maj-Gen Taguba's report that year into prisoner abuse at the jail.

The Daily Telegraph, which spoke to Maj-Gen Taguba, said it was not clear from the report who had seen the photos or how they were obtained. It said the photos related to 400 cases of alleged abuse between 2001 and 2005 at Abu Ghraib and six other prisons.

The newspaper said the images were backed up by statements from Maj-Gen Taguba's report obtained under America's freedom of information act.

Last month a report by the Senate armed services committee said government backing for the CIA's harsh interrogation methods set the tone for abuses in Iraq and that it was not appropriate simply to blame low-ranking officers, saying high-ranking officials sent the message that such acts were appropriate.

The report followed the release of memos from president George Bush's administration that justified the use on terrorist suspects of what critics said amounted to torture. Obama administration officials did not respond to requests for comment.

• 

  Lenny Henry: 'Maybe one day we can have a black Doctor Who'

  As he wins the outstanding newcomer prize at the Evening Standard theatre awards for his role as Othello, Lenny Henry has come a long way from black and white minstrels

  ---

• 

  Spread of the Jedhead

  Jedward, voted off the X-Factor this weekend, are the most obvious proponents of the sticky-uppy look - but the style crosses boundaries of age, gender, sexuality and taste, says Nick Curtis

  ---

Sky in plot to hire students on the cheap

Sky News is currently recruiting students as reporters for its coverage of next year's general election. However, the opportunity doesn't quite seem so appealing

All stories