Did the UK seek changes to CIA torture report?

A spokesman for David Cameron acknowledged the UK had been granted deletions in advance of the publication, 24 hours after denying Britain had asked for passages to be removed.

Read: CIA's 'brutal' torture methods outlined in report

However, in a statement issued by Downing Street this morning, it said UK intelligence had been given “limited sight” sight of sections before the report’s publication.

A spokeswoman told Channel 4 News: “Our agencies highlighted a small number of issues in the proposed text where changes would be necessary to protect UK national security and intelligence operations. But there was no question of the UK seeking redactions over any allegations of UK involvement in activity that would be unlawful in the UK.”

With the publication of a damning report into the interrogation of detainees by America’s CIA, renewed calls for a more detailed examination of Britain’s role in the rendition of terror suspects have been sparked.

‘No redactions’

The prime minister’s deputy official spokesman said on Thursday: “My understanding is that no redactions were sought to remove any suggestion that there was UK involvement in any alleged torture or rendition. But I think there was a conversation with the agencies and their US counterparts on the executive summary.

Any redactions sought there would have been on national security grounds. Downing Street

“Any redactions sought there would have been on national security grounds in the way we might have done with any other report.”

The deputy prime minister said on Thursday that a full judicial inquiry may still be required into allegations of British complicity in torture if police and parliamentary probes fail to answer key questions.

Nick Clegg said during his weekly LBC radio phone-in: “Once the police investigations are done, once the report from the Intelligence and Security Committee is done, we should keep an open mind if we need to about moving to a full judicial inquiry if there are any outstanding questions.

“I’m like anybody else: I want the truth out there.”

‘I know how seriously he took these issues when he was in government’

Labour leader Ed Miliband was asked whether his brother David, a former foreign secretary, had questions to answer about what he knew.

At an event in the City of London, the Labour leader said: “He has talked about these things in the past.

“I know how seriously he took these issues when he was in government.

“He answered questions about this in the House of Commons while he was in government.

“He is never somebody who would ever countenance the British state getting engaged in this kind of activity.”

He added: “The Government itself here in Britain previously announced an inquiry into these issues but then held off that inquiry because there are court cases ongoing.

“I think it’s right to let those court cases and those issues take their course.”