Ministers deny collusion in torture
Updated on 09 August 2009
Britain can never be certain that anti-terror intelligence obtained overseas was not gathered as a result of torture, say the home and foreign secretaries. Alex Thomson reports.
In a joint article for a Sunday newspaper, David Miliband and Alan Johnson repeat the government's denial that it colludes in the abuse of prisoners abroad but say tough judgements had to be made to protect the UK from attack.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband's and Home Secretary Alan Johnson's comments come amid growing calls for a public inquiry into Britain's alleged complicity in torture overseas.
Miliband and Johnson, who have responsibility for MI6 and MI5, say difficult judgements had to be made in order to safeguard the UK from attack.
They strongly denied accusations of a "policy to collude in, solicit, or directly participate in abuses of prisoners" or to cover up abuses. Their defence, in an article for the Sunday Telegraph, came as another key parliamentary committee raised serious concerns about the matter.
The Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said it was "imperative" that the government fulfilled its legal obligations to act positively to stop torture and probe allegations.
It expressed particular concern about Britain's links with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, calling for assurance that British officials would not be "uncritical of, or complicit in, abuses of human rights".
There have been several allegations about the involvement of UK intelligence agencies in the questioning of terrorist suspects in other countries, including providing questions for interrogators to use.
Scotland Yard is doing a criminal investigation into claims that MI5 was complicit in the abuse of Binyam Mohamed, a UK resident who claims he was tortured while being held at sites in Pakistan, Morocco and Afghanistan.
Last week, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights blamed ministers for failing to fully answer questions on the matter and said an independent inquiry was the only way to re-establish public confidence in the intelligence and security agencies.
In the piece, the ministers said the UK "firmly opposes" torture and maltreatment but said there was little understanding of the difficult judgments faced.
"There is no truth in suggestions that the security and intelligence services operate without control or oversight.
"There is no truth in the more serious suggestion that it is our policy to collude in, solicit, or directly participate in abuses of prisoners. Nor is it true that alleged wrongdoing is covered up," they wrote.
"These issues are of fundamental importance to our security and to our values. We need a public debate, but an informed one."
They said it was not possible to be certain about the behaviour of other governments "whose obligations may differ from our own".
"Yet intelligence from overseas is critical to our success in stopping terrorism. All the most serious plots and attacks in the UK in this decade have had significant links abroad.
"Whether passing information which might lead to suspects being detained, passing questions to be put to detainees, or directly interviewing them, our agencies are required to seek to minimise, and where possible avoid, the risk of mistreatment.
"Enormous effort goes into assessing the risks in each case. Operations have been halted where the risk of mistreatment was too high.
"But it is not possible to eradicate all risk. Judgments need to be made."
They also defended the government's accountability on the issue, which was described as "woefully deficient" by the JCHR which called for the Intelligence and Security Committee, which is appointed by the prime minister to oversee the work of MI5 and MI6 and reports direct to Downing Street, to be reconstituted as a parliamentary committee reporting to MPs.
The ministers said the ISC was an independent body that did not hesitate to censure where necessary, adding: "The sensitive nature of the agencies' work requires a different set of checks and balances from other parts of government."
"We take all allegations of wrong-doing very seriously. The law is the ultimate safeguard and is available to those who feel their rights have been abused, as shown by current cases where individuals have brought claims against the government," they added.
The FAC report also accused the Foreign Office of "pulling its punches" over the "massive scale" of human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, another key ally in the fight against terrorism.
It said it was concerned about allegations being made about using the American airbase on the UK territory of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for US "rendition" flights carrying terrorist suspects, asking ministers to put pressure on the US administration to carry out a comprehensive check of its records to determine whether there were any other cases beyond the two from 2002 which it disclosed last year.
And it called on the government to do more to tackle the concerns surrounding the treatment of prisoners who had been captured by UK forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and then handed on to the local authorities or the US.
Responding to the report, Amnesty International UK campaigns director Tim Hancock said: "This report is yet another voice in a growing chorus demanding greater transparency over the UK's involvement in 'war on terror' human rights abuses.
"It adds yet more weight to our call for a full, independent inquiry."
James Welch, legal director of campaign group Liberty, said: "Calls for an independent judicial inquiry into the dirtiest part of Britain's 'war on terror' are becoming almost deafening.
"Is the government listening? Will it appoint such an inquiry before it is eventually ordered by the courts?"
Former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis joins Alex Thomson.
Mike Gapes MP, Labour and Cooperative party MP for Ilford South.
