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| British role in torture: Clegg has ‘open mind’ about judicial inquiry | British role in torture: Clegg has ‘open mind’ about judicial inquiry |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Nick Clegg has suggested there could be a case for a full judicial inquiry into the possibility of British complicity in torture in the wake of a report into brutal and ineffective methods used by the US Central Intelligence Agency. | Nick Clegg has suggested there could be a case for a full judicial inquiry into the possibility of British complicity in torture in the wake of a report into brutal and ineffective methods used by the US Central Intelligence Agency. |
| The deputy prime minister said he was completely confident that torture “cannot, will not and is not being used under any circumstances by UK agents”. However, he said, there were still questions about the past that were being investigated by the police and the intelligence and security committee (ISC), which is considering the findings of the interim Gibson report into torture. | The deputy prime minister said he was completely confident that torture “cannot, will not and is not being used under any circumstances by UK agents”. However, he said, there were still questions about the past that were being investigated by the police and the intelligence and security committee (ISC), which is considering the findings of the interim Gibson report into torture. |
| Clegg said the preliminary inquiry by Sir Peter Gibson “did not pull its punches in saying frankly the standards were not being adhered to in the way that they should have been in the crucial days after 9/11”, as it raised 27 serious questions about British involvement in practices such as rendition. | Clegg said the preliminary inquiry by Sir Peter Gibson “did not pull its punches in saying frankly the standards were not being adhered to in the way that they should have been in the crucial days after 9/11”, as it raised 27 serious questions about British involvement in practices such as rendition. |
| Speaking on his LBC 97.3 radio call-in, the Liberal Democrat leader said the ISC was looking at this first, but he raised the prospect of a full judicial inquiry into the issue if it did not get to the bottom of what had happened. | Speaking on his LBC 97.3 radio call-in, the Liberal Democrat leader said the ISC was looking at this first, but he raised the prospect of a full judicial inquiry into the issue if it did not get to the bottom of what had happened. |
| “Once the police investigations are done, once this 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,” he said. “Because I’m like everyone else, I want the truth out there.” | “Once the police investigations are done, once this 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,” he said. “Because I’m like everyone else, I want the truth out there.” |
| Clegg said the coalition government had been the first to publish the guidance for how spies handled detainees, but there could be a case for greater transparency. | Clegg said the coalition government had been the first to publish the guidance for how spies handled detainees, but there could be a case for greater transparency. |
| The Liberal Democrat leader rebutted the suggestion that agencies should ever use the same dirty tricks of terrorists, saying that torturing people meant losing the moral high ground. | |
| “Of course you can interrogate people forcefully … but you cannot mistreat and torture people. The devastating truth that has been revealed by this senate committee report [is that] the idea that you can get to the truth by torturing someone has been categorically shown to be false. In fact, what some people do in that situation is to make things up.” | |
| The strength of his comments suggest Clegg could back the idea of a judicial investigation. | |
| His Lib Dem colleague Sarah Teather has already called for a public inquiry into British complicity in torture. | |
| The former children’s minister said: “If the US has managed to do something which is transparent, it really is beholden on us to do something which is similarly transparent. | |
| “The inquiries that we have had so far have been pretty slippery … It doesn’t feel very healthy. If we are going to try and put this stuff behind us and move on, we are actually going to have to air some of it.” | |
| David Davis, the prominent Conservative backbencher and former leadership candidate, said an inquiry was a necessity. | |
| So far, David Cameron has only pointed to the work of the Gibson report, now in the hands of the ISC, saying he is satisfied that enough is being done to address past wrongs. | |
| Asked about the Senate report on the CIA while on a trip to Ankara, in Turkey, the prime minister said: “After 9/11 there were things that happened that were wrong and we should be clear about the fact that they were wrong. | |
| “In Britain we have had the Gibson inquiry that has now produced a series of questions that the intelligence and security committee will look at. But I am satisfied our system is dealing with all of those issues and I, as prime minister, have issued guidance to all of our agents and others working around the world about how they have to handle these issues in future. | |
| “I am confident this issue has been dealt with from a British perspective and I think I can reassure the British public about that. But overall we should be clear: torture is wrong.” |