This Is How We Did It

Posted on Mar 18, 2009

The Guardian / Frank Baron

The headquarters of MI5, the British counterintelligence agency that is accused of participating in torture within the U.S. “extraordinary rendition” process.

Growing evidence of British complicity in “unacceptable activities,” including participation in U.S. torture practices, has prompted Prime Minister Gordon Brown to publish the rules that determine how U.K. intelligence agencies MI5 and MI6 can interrogate suspects.

Following demands for full inquiries amid allegations that British intelligence officers took part in the torture of suspects under the U.S. “extraordinary rendition” process, Brown is reportedly moving toward more government transparency by publishing the interrogation rules officers must follow.

The Guardian:

Gordon Brown’s decision to publish guidance to intelligence officers and military personnel about interrogating detainees, and set up a system designed to ensure that guidance is observed, comes after growing evidence that they have routinely indulged in unacceptable activities including collusion in torture.

It is a tacit admission that, despite ministers repeatedly saying the government does not condone torture, all is not well.

Brown’s announcement, in a Commons written statement, came after the intelligence and security committee (ISC) disclosed that it had written to the prime minister about what it calls the “alleged complicity of UK security and intelligence agencies in torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”.

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