Cameron: It is time to clear this matter up once and for all
Prime minister David Cameron comments on the torture inquiry:
“For the past few years, the reputation of our security services has been overshadowed by allegations about their involvement in the treatment of detainees held by other countries.
“Some of these detainees allege they were mistreated by those countries.
“Other allegations have also been made about the UK’s involvement in the rendition of detainees in the aftermath of 9/11.
“These allegations are not proven.
“But today, we do face a totally unsatisfactory situation.
“Our services are paralysed by paperwork as they try to defend themselves in lengthy court cases with uncertain rules.
“Our reputation as a country that believes in human rights, justice, fairness and the rule of law – indeed for much of what the services exist to protect – risks being tarnished.
“Public confidence is being eroded with people doubting the ability of our services to protect us and questioning the rules under which they operate. And terrorists and extremists are able to exploit these allegations for their own propaganda.
“We all believe it is time to clear this matter up once and for all.
“So today I want to set out how we will deal with the problems of the past how we will sort out the future and, crucially, how we can make sure the security services can get on, do their job and keep us safe.
“As minister for the intelligence services, I am determined to do everything possible to help them get on with the job they trained to do – and we desperately need them to do.
“However, to do that, we need to resolve the issues of the past.
“While there is no evidence that any British officer was directly engaged in torture in the aftermath of 9/11 there are questions over the degree to which British officers were working with foreign security services who were treating detainees in ways they should not have done.
“About a dozen cases have been brought in court about the actions of UK personnel including, for example, that since 9/11 they may have witnessed mistreatment such as the use of hoods and shackles.
“This has led to accusations that Britain may have been complicit in the mistreatment of detainees.
“The longer these questions remain unanswered, the bigger the stain on our reputation as a country that believes in freedom, fairness and human rights grows.
“That’s why myself and the deputy prime minister are determined to get to the bottom of what happened.
“The intelligence services also keen publicly to establish their principles and integrity.
“So we will have a single, authoritative examination of all these issues. We can’t start that inquiry while criminal investigations are ongoing. And it’s not feasible to start it when there so many civil law suits that remain unresolved.
“So we want to do everything we can to help that process along. That’s why we are committed to mediation with those who have brought civil claims about their detention in Guantanamo. And wherever appropriate, we will offer compensation.
“As soon as we’ve made enough progress, an independent inquiry will be held.
“It will look at whether Britain was implicated in the improper treatment of detainees held by other countries that may have occurred in the aftermath of 9/11. And if we were, what went wrong, and what do we need to do to learn the lessons.
“So the inquiry will need to look at our security departments and intelligence services.
“Should we have realised sooner that what foreign agencies were doing may have been unacceptable and that we shouldn’t be associated with it? Did we allow our own high standards to slip – either systemically or individually? Did we give clear enough guidance to officers in the field?
“Was information flowing quickly enough from officers on the ground to the intelligence services and then on to ministers – so we knew what was going on and what our response should be?
“We should not be naïve or starry-eyed about the circumstances our security services were working under in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.
“There was a real danger that terrorist could get their hands on a dirty bomb, chemical and biological weapons – or even worse. Threat levels had been transformed. The urgency with which we needed to protect our citizens was pressing.
“But let me state clearly, we need to know the answers. If things went wrong, why? And what we must do to uphold the standards that people expect.
“This inquiry can not and will not be costly or open-ended – that serves neither the interest of justice nor national security.
“Neither can it be a full public inquiry. Of course, some of its hearings will be in public. However, we must be realistic. Inquiries into our intelligence services are not like other inquiries. There is some information that must be kept secret – information about sources, capabilities and partnerships.
“Let’s be frank, it is not possible to have a full public inquiry into something that is meant to be secret. So any intelligence material provided to the inquiry panel will not be made public and nor will intelligence officers be asked to give evidence in public.
“But that does not mean we cannot get to the bottom of what happened.
“I am confident the inquiry will reach an authoritative view on the actions of the state and our services – and proper recommendations for the future.
“We are also publishing the guidance issued to intelligence and military personnel on how to deal with detainees held by other countries. The previous government had promised to do this, but didn’t. We are.
“It makes clear that:
“One – our services must never take any action where they know or believe that torture will occur.
“Two – if they become aware of abuses by other countries they should report it to the UK government so we can try to stop it.
“And three – in cases where our services believe that there may be information crucial to saving lives but where there may also be a serious risk of mistreatment, it is for ministers – rightly – to determine the action, if any, our services should take.”
