A very tired looking Stephen Harper and an embattled Peter MacKay answered a barrage of quesitons during question period this afternoon regarding their knowledge of detainee abuses in Afghanistan.  Opposition leaders repeated calls for a public inquiry into the scandal and demanded that the Prime Minister Harper fire the Minister of Defence Peter MacKay.

The message from the government was a familiar one, in which they blamed the opposition for maligning the armed forces with questions about government knowledge of abuse.  Also, much like when General Natynzcyk passed the buck onto a military inquiry into lower ranked military officials, Peter MacKay said today during question period that he relies on the information received from the military to make his decisions.  When asked if the government would apologize to Diplomat Richard Colvin for publicly smearing him, Mr. MacKay denied any attacks on his character.

Watch some of the battle below: