Allegations against the former commander of the Royal Irish Regiment (RIR) in the war on Iraq, Lieut Col Tim Collins, are being used by senior British military officials to disband the regiment, it was claimed tonight.
As a Ministry of Defence (MoD) inquiry into how he ran his unit was dismissed as a farce, unionist MPs warned of a plot to disband the force.
The Belfast-born commander, who has since left the RIR and been promoted to Colonel, has categorically rejected claims that he seriously mistreated Iraqis during the Gulf conflict.
He is also expected to challenge allegations that a young soldier killed himself because of a culture of bullying within the 1st Battalion.
Tonight Ulster Unionist MP Mr Jeffrey Donaldson claimed shadowy forces within the Government and the military were attempting to blacken his name as part of a deal to sacrifice the RIR to meet republican demands for new security arrangements in Northern Ireland.
The regiment, which has three battalions stationed in the North, is loathed by republicans who view it as a direct descendent of the overwhelmingly Protestant Ulster Defence Regiment and its predecessor, the B Specials.
Mr Donaldson said: "There are those in the Ministry of Defence and the army who have an agenda which is to discredit Tim Collins and the Royal Irish Regiment.
"There's a growing suspicion of a witch hunt against people like Tim Collins by some who are motivated by petty jealousy and perhaps by a political agenda with regard to the future of the RIR."
Meanwhile, the father of a soldier who shot himself while under the command of the Gulf War chief said he had no faith in the investigation.
Pte Paul Cochrane (18) shot himself at a military base in Armagh city after being refused home leave, despite confirmation by outside medical authorities that he was suffering from a loss of hearing.
Taxi driver, Mr Billy Cochrane, 43, from the Cregagh area of east Belfast, claimed: "On the night Paul died, he [Collins] stood in our house and cried. He told me 'I would have walked on broken glass for your son'.
"After Paul was buried, he said he would leave no stone unturned. He would find out what happened, but as soon as he found out we were questioning things that had happened to Paul, the army discontinued having any contact with us."
Mr Cochrane said he had no faith in the investigations saying: "It will be another internal inquiry by officers into officers. Nothing will come out of it. It is all farcical."
"They've decided to hold an inquiry into Tim Collins after only three days, and yet Paul had been dead nearly two years and they've refused to release one document about him."
But senior military sources tonight insisted Col Collins was the victim of a smear campaign which was being used to undermine the RIR but the MoD denied the claims.
They said a board of inquiry had been held following the death of Pte Cochrane and further inquiries were now being held into the conduct of the regiment leading up to his death.
Sources within the regiment tonight disclosed how Lieut Col had built up a fearsome reputation.
One said: "He's a hard bastard. The soldiers may not like him, but they respect him."
PA