Britain allowed 'inexcusable' treatment of detainees after 9/11, scathing report reveals

A three-year inquiry by the Intelligence and Security Committee, which oversees the work of the UK's spy agencies MI5 and MI6, concludes that British officers directly witnessed torture by American counterparts and questions how top officials "did not recognise the pattern of mistreatment by the US".

The committee found that, from 2002 onwards, UK spies took part in interviews of some 2-3000 detaines held by the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq, and at the Guantanamo Bay prison facility.

It said that while there was no evidence UK officers "directly carried out physical mistreatment of detainees", it had uncovered nine cases where British agents made "verbal threats" to detainees and two cases "in which UK personnel were party to mistreatment administered by others".

The report also reveals that there were 13 incidents where British intelligence officers witnessed "at first hand a detainee being mistreated by others", 25 where UK staff were told by detainees themselves that they had been mistreated, and more than 100 cases of UK personnel being warned by other intelligence agencies of mistreatment by the US.

Meanwhile, the committee said it had uncovered three cases where British intelligence offered to help foot the bill to other countries to kidnap and detain suspects - a process known as extraordinary rendition - putting them at "real risk of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment".

The cross-party group of MPs and peers dismissed the claim by intelligence agencies that reported cases were “isolated incidents”, adding that they could not have been seen as such by head office.

It is, the committee says, “difficult to comprehend how those at the top of the office did not recognise the pattern of mistreatment by the US".

The report read: “That the US, and others, were mistreating detainees is beyond doubt, as is the fact that the Agencies and Defence Intelligence were aware of this at an early point.

“The same is true of rendition: there was no attempt to identify the risks involved and formulate the UK’s response.

“There was no understanding in [Government] of rendition and no clear policy - or even recognition of the need for one."

Committee chairman Dominic Grieve - a former attorney general - added: "The 27 conclusions contained in the body of this Report outline some serious concerns. In our view the UK tolerated actions, and took others, that we regard as inexcusable.

"That being said, we have found no ‘smoking gun’ to indicate that the Agencies deliberately overlooked reports of mistreatment and rendition by the US as a matter of institutional policy.

"The evidence instead suggests a difficult balancing act: the Agencies were the junior partner with limited influence, and concerned not to upset their US counterparts in case they lost access to intelligence from detainees that might be vital in preventing an attack on the UK."

GOVERNMENT 'DENIED ACCESS'

The committee was also scathing about the level of cooperation it recevied from the Government as it went about its work.

Mr Grieve said that while the ISC had been able to cover the "breadth of the issues" and speak to former detainees, its attempts to interview former intelligence officers were rebuffed by ministers.

"The Government has denied us access to those individuals," he said.

"The Committee has therefore concluded – reluctantly – that it must draw a line under the Inquiry."

Earlier this week, Mr Grieve accused the Government of an "unacceptable" attempt to undermine today's report by leaking key details to the press.

"These are not the Government's reports to trail or leak as they wish," he said.

"The Government is, exceptionally, given sight of the reports ahead of publication so that they can check there is nothing in them which would harm UK national security.

"The draft reports should have been kept on an exceptionally tight distribution within Government. It appears that that procedure has been abused in order to leak details of the reports, so as to draw the sting on Thursday."

Shaodw Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti said the report's findings were "clearly horrifying", and praised the committee for its work despite the "inevitable limitations" imposed by Downing Street.

The Labour frontbencher told the BBC: "I think it's pretty clear that in the days, months and years after 9/11 there was an understandable febrile atmosphere.

"And the senior partner in the special relationship - i.e. the United states - was dabbling in these most horrific practices. And to some extent, the UK government went along for the ride."

She added: "What's perhaps even more concerning are the damning criticisms that Mr Grieve's committee makes about the current situation. It points to a lack of clarity even today about what ministers can and cannot authorise."

The party is calling for a full, judge-led inquiry to investigate historic allegations of torture and rendition.

Corey Stoughton of civil rights group Liberty meanwhile accused ministers of having "crippled this inquiry from the start" as the heavy-hitting reports were unveiled.

"Their pages make for distressing reading, but we still haven’t got to the bottom of the UK’s involvement in the unforgivable mistreatment of people around the world," he said.

"Ministers must finally instigate the promised independent judge-led inquiry to delve deeper into our country’s involvement in torture and rendition."

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