How many Iraqis have died? 655,000 -- or less than 10% of that?
The British government was advised against publicly criticising a report estimating that 655,000 Iraqis had died due to the war, the BBC has learnt.
Iraqi Health Ministry figures put the toll at less than 10% of the total in the survey, published in the Lancet.
But the [UK] Ministry of Defence's chief scientific adviser said the [Lancet] survey's methods were "close to best practice" and the study design was "robust". Another expert agreed the method was "tried and tested".
The Iraq government asks the country's hospitals to report the number of victims of terrorism or military action.
Critics say the system was not started until well after the invasion and requires over-pressed hospital staff not only to report daily, but also to distinguish between victims of terrorism and of crime.
The Lancet medical journal published its peer-reviewed survey last October.
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Iraqi Health Ministry figures put the toll at less than 10% of the total in the survey, published in the Lancet.
But the [UK] Ministry of Defence's chief scientific adviser said the [Lancet] survey's methods were "close to best practice" and the study design was "robust". Another expert agreed the method was "tried and tested".
The Iraq government asks the country's hospitals to report the number of victims of terrorism or military action.
Critics say the system was not started until well after the invasion and requires over-pressed hospital staff not only to report daily, but also to distinguish between victims of terrorism and of crime.
The Lancet medical journal published its peer-reviewed survey last October.