London ? Britain is facing allegations that its soldiers abused Iraqi prisoners in a scandal that echoes similar charges in the United States but with a distinctly British tabloid twist: claims that the incriminating photos are fakes.

A British defense minister told the House of Commons on Tuesday that the government would “leave no stone unturned” in investigating the allegations, which were first published in the Daily Mirror newspaper on Saturday.

Adam Ingram, the armed forces minister, said “any decent thinking person” would be disturbed by the photos, which purportedly show anonymous soldiers abusing a hooded and bound Iraqi prisoner by striking him with a rifle butt, kicking him and urinating on him.

The man, thought to be about 20 years old, was picked up as a suspected thief last September, beaten for eight hours and then thrown from a moving vehicle, according to the Mirror report. It said its information came from two unnamed members of the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, a unit with a long and colorful history.

“From the outset, we have taken the allegations seriously and taken the photos at face value and will continue to do so unless there is evidence to the contrary,” Ingram said. The Mirror had handed over 20 photos of alleged abuse to military investigators, he added.

While the government has not sought publicly to discredit the photos, defenders of the regiment have done so vociferously.

Col. David Black, a former commander of the regiment, is one of several people who have alleged that the black-and-white photos were doctored. They have contended that the uniforms and weapons depicted were not those of the regiment, and that the lack of blood, sweat, dirt or injuries on the body of the alleged victim suggested that the scenes had been faked.

Ingram expressed concern that “when the press do make these charges they walk away, and they can lay waste to people’s reputation.” He added: “These allegations have been aired right across the Arab world and also into Iraq; there is always a question of life being put at risk because of what may prove to be unfounded allegations, so it is on the conscience of those who have run it in this way.”

But the Mirror, an early and vehement opponent of the Iraq war, has insisted the story is true and has quoted its two anonymous sources as saying the photos represented only a tiny portion of the abuse that occurred. “Maybe the officers don’t know what is going on — but everybody else does,” the Mirror quoted one of the sources as saying. “I have seen literally hundreds of pictures. The Army knows a lot more has happened.”

“Although we appreciate the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment has concerns, as they put it, about the Daily Mirror, we also have very serious concerns about the behavior of some of their troops in Iraq,” the newspaper said in a statement.

In the tabloid world, those who get beat on an exclusive story often follow up by trashing the scoop, and the Daily Express led its front page Tuesday with the huge headline “LIARS.” Piers Morgan, the Mirror’s combative editor, told the Guardian newspaper: “Being called a liar by that lot is like being called a halfwit by the village idiot.”

Still, even Morgan’s friends said he had risked his career by publishing a story that could threaten British lives in Iraq. “Piers has had a lot of success and he’s had a lot of major disasters as well, but I think this one would be one too many,” said Max Clifford, a publicist who has worked closely with Morgan.

“I can’t imagine that Piers would press a button unless he was totally convinced” the photos were genuine.