The mother of a Midland soldier killed in Iraq claimed yesterday Birmingham hospital bosses were covering up "what really happens" on wards where military patients are treated.

Carol Jones, who lives near Atherstone, Warwickshire, was one of many observers at the Commons defence committee at the Council House.

Her son, Sergeant John Jones, who served with the 1st Battalion of Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, died after he was injured in a roadside bomb in Iraq in November. He was 31.

Mrs Jones spoke after the head of Selly Oak Hospital, which cares for forces personnel injured in Afghanistan and Iraq, accused the media of peddling "urban myths" about Muslims abusing wounded soldiers on wards.

Julie Moore, chief executive of University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, told the committee staff were puzzled and frustrated by much of the coverage.

Among the stories were tales of a Muslim nurse verbally abusing a casualty from Iraq, another being told to remove his "offensive" uniform, and most recently a military medic facing a barrage of abuse from three Muslim women.

Ms Moore told the committee no Muslim nurse was known to work on the wards.

She added that her inquiries had found no evidence to substantiate the other media claims.

"The feedback staff were getting from soldiers wasn't reflected in the articles they were reading," said Ms Moore.

But Mrs Jones, who set up a support group for military families, claimed the hospital's evidence to the committee was "nothing more than a cover-up" and "laughable".

She said: "We were hoping this would pave the way for soldiers to get their own military hospital, but I don't think so from what we've heard today.

"I've spent time on the wards at Selly Oak. I've spoken to the soldiers - including some of those that have been in the papers - and what I'm hearing from them is not what the hospital has been saying. It's a totally different story.

"Jamie Cooper, the lad who was left with an overflowing colostomy bag, also contracted MRSA while he was at Selly Oak. That's another reason why our boys should be treated in a military-only hospital.

"Soldiers aren't sent to civilian prisons if they're court martialled, they go to a military detention centre, so why should hospitals be any different."

In her evidence, Ms Moore suggested reporters may have posed as relatives to gain access to Selly Oak's wards.

She added: "We have had to become extra vigilant to watch out for this.

"The small stories and the urban myths have spread while the good stories that have been well reported have not.

"We have done some world-first surgery at the hospital and we worked very hard to publicise that but it wasn't picked up as much as some of the stories that did the rounds."

The Royal Centre For Defence Medicine's base at Selly Oak was opened in April 2001 by the Princess Royal, when it was primarily a training facility.

Since then it has established a 12-bed military-managed ward, where armed forces personnel are treated by specialist military and civilian staff.

But part of UHB's superhospital, currently being built on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital site, will be dedicated to a 64-bed Patient Hotel for the RCDM's staff and patients.

The defence committee is due to reconvene next month and the final report is due to be published in the autumn.

Brian Jenkins, Labour MP for Tamworth, who sat on the Commons panel, praised the work done by military medics at Selly Oak.

He said: "There are men and women alive today because they've come to Selly Oak. It would be be very challenging for our military teams to have shown the same degree of care and skill."

The committee's chairman, the Rt Hon James Arbuthnot, Tory MP for North-east Hampshire, asked how many complaints the hospital had received.

Ms Moore replied: "Since the military came to Selly Oak we've treated nearly 40,000 patients and we've only had seven complaints - two last year and five this year.

"These involved a variety of issues but only one was a clinical case, the others were around peripheral issues."