Legislators call for probe into UK complicity in torture

LONDON - An independent inquiry into claims the British Government was complicit in torture has been called for after two senior Cabinet ministers and Britain's security chief refused to answer questions on the issue.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband and former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith refused three times to appear before a parliamentary committee examining allegations the Government was complicit in the torture of terrorist suspects in Pakistan and Egypt.

Jonathan Evans, the head of MI5, also turned down the invitation three times and failed to provide a written statement.

In a report, the Joint Human Rights Committee accused the Government of being "determined to avoid parliamentary scrutiny".

It also said Britain would be in breach of its human rights obligations if it "turned a blind eye" to the use of torture in obtaining evidence.

The committee called for the immediate publication of legal advice given to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet concerning the torture claims, as well as advice given to security officers. All such instructions have been kept secret so far.

Major reforms to increase the accountability of the secret services were also recommended to tackle the Government's "woefully deficient" approach.

"Our experience over the last year is that ministers are determined to avoid parliamentary scrutiny and accountability on these matters, refusing requests to give oral evidence; providing a standard answer to some of our written questions, which fails to address the issues, and ignoring other questions entirely," the report said.

"There is now no other way to restore public confidence in the intelligence services than by setting up an independent inquiry into the numerous allegations about the UK's complicity in torture."

The findings follow new evidence of MI5's alleged knowledge of the torture of Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian national now resident in Britain. High Court papers revealed an MI5 officer had been in Morocco on three occasions at a time when Mohamed claims he was tortured there. The Attorney-General and Scotland Yard have started investigations.

- INDEPENDENT