The first British soldier to be charged with the murder of a civilian in Iraq appeared in court today.

Trooper Kevin Lee Williams was granted bail during a brief hearing at Bow Street Magistrates' Court in central London.

The 21-year-old member of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment is charged with the murder of Hassan Said on or before August 3, 2003, in Ad-Dayr, south east Iraq.

Dressed in a dark blue suit and open necked blue shirt, Williams spoke only to confirm his name and age. His address was not given in court. Prosecutor Deborah Walsh said the Crown had no objection to Williams being granted bail.

She said: ''The Crown believes that bail is appropriate providing certain conditions can be attached to that bail.''

Hassan Abbad Said, also known as Hassan Abdul Said, is believed to have been shot while being arrested in the British zone of southern Iraq. Little is known about the incident in which he died.

The Attorney General asked detectives from Scotland Yard to investigate the case in May this year.

The Yard's Homicide Command, part of the Specialist Crime Directorate, prepared a file and Williams was arrested this morning on the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

He was bailed on condition that he reside at Knightsbridge barracks in central London tonight and thereafter at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, which he may not leave except by permission of an officer.

Williams must report daily to the Royal Military Police post at Catterick barracks, surrender his passport and undergo an examination carried out by two medical practitioners.

He is due to appear at the Old Bailey at 9.45am on September 28.

Asked at his monthly Downing Street press conference about allegations of criminality and misconduct against British soldiers in Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Blair said: ''There are rules that our soldiers abide by, and incidentally the vast majority of them do the whole time, but anyone who commits a criminal offence will be charged, as we made clear.''

But Mr Blair stressed: ''The vast majority of British soldiers in Iraq, as elsewhere, are absolute heroes who do a fantastic job.''

A spokeswoman for the Attorney General's office said Williams was the only British soldier being dealt with in the civilian courts.

''This is the only one going through the domestic system,'' she said.

His arrest comes after Private Alexander Johnston, of the 1st Battalion of the King's Own Scottish Borderers, was last month charged with the unlawful wounding of a 13-year-old shot in al-Uzayr, south of Amarah, last September. The boy survived the incident. Pte Johnston is to face a court martial over the incident. No date has yet been set.

A further four British soldiers are to face a court martial in connection with incidents in Iraq.

Royal Fusiliers Lance Corporal Darren Larkin; Corporal Daniel Kenyon; Fusilier Gary Bartlam and Lance Corporal Mark Cooley are to appear before a court martial on January 10 to face allegations of abusing Iraqis.

Referring to Williams's case in a written statement to Parliament today, Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith QC, said: ''As I indicated in my written statement to the House on June 14, this case, which involves an alleged unlawful killing by shooting of an Iraqi citizen during the course of an arrest, was brought to my attention after charges were dismissed by the soldier's commanding officer.

''This meant the case could not be tried by court martial.

''I referred it to the CPS who asked the Metropolitan Police for assistance in collecting further evidence.

''I can confirm that today the Metropolitan Police, on the advice of the CPS, charged Trooper Williams with the murder of Hassan Said on August 3, 2003, in Ad-Dayr, Iraq.''

The 2nd Royal Tank Regiment was formed by the amalgamation of the 2nd and 3rd Royal Tank Regiments in August 1992.

Its motto is ''Fear Naught'' and the regiment is stationed at Lumsden Barracks in Fallingbostel, Germany, as part of the 7th Armoured Brigade (Desert Rats). The Queen is its Colonel-in-Chief.

It is not the first time a British soldier has been charged with murder over a death during active duty.

In 1995, Guardsmen James Fisher, from Ayr and Mark Wright, from Arbroath, Tayside, were sentenced to life for the murder of 18-year-old Peter McBride in Belfast.

Mr McBride was shot in the back as he ran away from the two Scots Guards in 1992.

After serving just three years behind bars the pair were released and allowed to return to the army.

Paratrooper Lee Clegg, from Bradford, was convicted of murder after shooting two teenage joyriders in Belfast in 1990.

The soldier was accused of using excessive force and firing a fourth shot into the back of the car, which killed passenger Karen Reilly, 18.

He was jailed for life in 1993 and freed on licence two years later. He was cleared following a retrial in 1999.