Now order a judicial inquiry into torture
WHAT a deeply depressing day for those who, like this paper, believe Britain should be a country utterly and unapologetically opposed to torture.
And what a shameful day for those security chiefs and Labour ministers who for years parroted denials about our complicity in US mistreatment of prisoners during the War on Terror.
After a three-year investigation, the Intelligence and Security Committee has exploded the myth of the ‘isolated incident’ and confirmed our worst fears: our spies were up to their necks in it.
British agents helped the US round up extremists despite knowing they could be tortured and were involved in the kidnap of dozens. Most alarmingly, agencies paid for flights carrying kidnapped suspects despite advice it was illegal.
No, Britain’s security services did not use torture themselves, but this was cynical and systematic involvement in the CIA’s torture programme, and, as the committee rightly concludes, utterly inexcusable.
But this welcome report cannot be the end of the matter, when the authors admit government secrecy makes it neither credible nor authoritative.
Farcically, real place names are substituted with english towns and individual suspects are given the names of birds.
The ISC ended its inquiry prematurely after ministers refused to allow interviews with individual agents. The committee was blocked from questioning two – unnamed – intelligence chiefs and neither former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw nor ex-home Secretary David Blunkett gave evidence. Nor for that matter did Tony Blair, who must bear ultimate responsibility.
The case against Mr Straw is particularly strong. In 2005, he said: ‘Unless we believe conspiracy theories and that behind this there is some secret state in league with dark forces... there simply is no truth in the claims that the UK has been involved in rendition, full stop’. Now we learn he signed off payments for rendition.
Looking back, this entire episode reeks of an establishment stitch-up designed to reveal as little as possible.
Only with the drip-drip of revelations – such as evidence found in the bombed out ruins of Gaddafi’s chief henchman after the fall of the Libyan regime – did pressure grow for full disclosure. Sued by victims, ministers used millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to fight civil claims then made vast compensation payments to preserve secrecy.
Openness and justice demand this report cannot be the final word. Theresa May must now order the judge-led inquiry promised by David Cameron eight years ago, and which the Mail has long campaigned for. Without one, the great stench of cover- up will only grow stronger.