Beleaguered US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made a surprise visit to the Iraqi prison at the centre of the abuse scandal yesterday and predicted there would be more "bad things" revealed in days to come.

He said lawyers were advising the Pentagon not to publicly release any more photographs of Iraqi prisoners being treated badly by US soldiers. But he dismissed as "garbage" any suggestion the Pentagon tried to cover up the prison abuse.

After meetings in Baghdad, Mr Rumsfeld travelled to the Abu Ghraib prison where US military police sexually humiliated and abused Iraqi prisoners last autumn, according to photos of the abuse that have stunned the world.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'd be happy to release them all to the public and to get it behind us," Mr Rumsfeld told reporters. "But at the present time I don't know anyone in the legal shop in any element of the government that is recommending that."

Mr Rumsfeld, speaking en route to Baghdad, said government lawyers argued that releasing more photographs would violate a Geneva Convention stricture against presenting images of prisoners that could be construed as degrading.

Mr Rumsfeld fiercely defended the Pentagon's response to the revelations of US guards at the Abu Ghraib prison having subjected Iraqi prisoners to sexually humiliating treatment and photographing it.

''The garbage that you keep reading - about cover-up and the Pentagon doing something to keep some information from people - is unfair, inaccurate and wrong," he said. "And if I find any evidence that it's true, I'll stop it."

Mr Rumsfeld also predicted that the abuse scandal would get worse in the days ahead.

"More bad things will come out, unquestionably,'' he said without being specific.

He went on to complain bitterly about the Arab media's coverage of US operations in Iraq.

"We have been lied about, day after day, week after week, month after month for the last 12 months in the Arab Press.".

Mr Rumsfeld's trip followed US President George Bush's visit on Monday to the Pentagon, where he declared his unwavering support for the defence chief amid the abuse scandal.