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UK handed terror suspects to US for interrogation
Nicholas Cecil, Chief Political Correspondent26.02.09
MINISTERS will today admit that Britain was involved in handing over terror suspects in Iraq to the US to fly to Afghanistan for interrogation.
Defence Secretary John Hutton was due to tell MPs of the two cases which are set to spark a huge new row over "extraordinary rendition".
Ministers had previously denied that Britain has been involved in secretly sending terror suspects to countries where torture and other abuses are still widely believed to be used on detainees.
The admissions today are thought to seriously undermine the Government's position. The Ministry of Defence refused to comment on the cases.
However, it is thought that there was some "mix-up" between British and American forces over who was detaining the two suspects, who were regarded as hardline al Qaeda terrorists.
US troops are said to have thought they were in their custody and then flew them to Afghanistan. The men, believed to be Pakistanis, are said to have been interviewed in their own language.
Andrew Dismore, chairman of Parliament's joint committee on human rights, stressed he wanted to hear the details of Mr Hutton's statement before commenting fully. However, he added: "If these claims are true, this opens another dimension in our involvement in the war on terror."
However, he stressed: "There is a difference between doing something unwittingly and doing something with the full knowledge of what may happen to the individuals concerned."
Britain's security agencies will now face accusations that suspects were tortured in Pakistan with their full knowledge. Binyam Mohamed, who was flown back to Britain on Monday after more than four years in Guantanamo Bay, claims he was "tortured in medieval ways" and that British officials knew.
Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox, who is in Islamabad meeting Pakistan's prime minister and other ministers, said: "It's essential that we get full disclosure from the Government because we need to know exactly what happened and when - not least because the Government has previously denied being part of extraordinary rendition."
Foreign Secretary David Miliband was forced to admit last year that two so-called "torture flights" were allowed to use British sovereign territory.
Two flights in 2002 refuelled at a joint British-American airbase called Camp Justice at Diego Garcia, off the coast of Sri Lanka. Neither of the two detainees being transported were British or British residents. Both were being taken to the Guantanamo Bay camp in Cuba.
In a Commons answer on 12 December 2005, former foreign secretary Jack Straw ruled out the possibility that any special rendition flights had been permitted.
Reader views (9)
"Binyam Mohamed, who was flown back to Britain on Monday after more than four years in Guantanamo Bay, claims he was "tortured in medieval ways" and that British officials knew."
And that, of course is definitive. Errr - not.
Accusations are easy to make, especially when compensation and right of UK residence and government hand-outs are involved. Evidence is kinda important though. It should also be pointed out that scars/wounds can be self-inflicted or be older than dirt, so they alone are not definitive either.
If wrong-doing took place, fine - sort it out. But don't just take the word of a character with suspicious movements and history at face value just because "the Americans" were involved. The man wasn't exactly keen on the Brits OR the Americans before this all happened. His unsupported word on details should at least be questioned.
- Rogan, Irving
What's happened to Binyam Mohamed ?
Has the Government imposed a news blackout on him ?
- Cap, london
You would care if it were you, P Staker. Innocent men are being tortured by the Americans and the British, so it is about time people realised how cruel and crooked our governments are.
- Neil M., london uk,
For unexplained reason my short comment have not been published. I repeat it here: Sara and Frank should be shipped off to Guantanamo promptly before this rest facility is closed. The closure will no doubt tax on their associates with the same ilk. Some more comments have turned up and only solidify the veiws that the English are bigotted and one of the most racists people on earth.
- Arthur, Southampton
Who cares if they did ?
- P Staker, London
We are still being too soft. If peopke like Binyam Mohamed thinks the British treated him so badly then why on earth did he back here? I would welcome this foreign national being deported to another country, although that won't happen as he won't get our benefits. If I was him I would have gone back to my country of origin or another country that was aligned with my culture.
- Sarah, London
The only decent decision this government has made during the last 10 years . . . I would suggest they hand over a couple of hundred more as soon as possible ! ! !
- Eoin Mcgreeghan, Derry, NI
Good news!!! keep it up
- Sarah, London
So what?
- Frank, Home Counties, England.
