British spies are accused of sharing intelligence obtained under torture

Britain’s spies have been accused of continuing to share intelligence obtained under torture by foreign states.

Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, Emily Thornberry, and Shadow Attorney-General, Shami Chakrabarti made the damning claim in a letter to Boris Johnson – citing unpublicised figures from the latest annual report from the Intelligence Services Commissioner (ISC).

The ISC, which has a duty to assess the way MI5, MI6 and GCHQ share intelligence, states that three agencies and the Ministry of Defence considered the official guidance (Consolidated Guidance on the Detention and Interviewing of Detainees Overseas) in 921 cases. 

Emily Thornberry MP

Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, Emily Thornberry (right), and Shadow Attorney-General, Shami Chakrabarti (left) made the damning claim in a letter to Boris Johnson

In the letter, see by The Guardian, Thornberry and Chakrabarti, wrote: ‘The commissioner’s most recent report reveals a doubling of cases considered under the Consolidated Guidance, compared with the last three years, and an unprecedented number of acknowledged failures to apply the Guidance.’

Then-commissioner, Sir Mark Waller, who stood down last year, found GCHQ had failed to follow the guidance in 35 cases.

The letter stated: ‘Even worse, in eight of those cases, it was found that the intelligence was shared despite the fact that the Guidance should have prohibited further action – presumably as a result of what were serious risks of torture or other ill-treatment.’

A Government spokeswoman said: ‘The UK stands firmly against the use of torture. We do not participate in, solicit, encourage or condone the use of such techniques for any purpose and we have robust oversight arrangements in place. 

‘It is open to the public and civil society to submit their views at any time to the Government.’  

The news comes after the Government last month apologised to a Libyan dissident –  kidnapped with his heavily pregnant wife in Thailand – after MI6 tipped off the Americans, who handed them to Colonel Gaddafi, for their ‘appalling’ treatment.

Abdel Hakim Belhaj, 52, and his wife Fatima Boudchar were grabbed by the CIA in Bangkok in 2004 and delivered to the dictator in Tripoli where he was jailed for six years and tortured.

Mr Belhaj has claimed previously he was ‘sacrificed’ so Tony Blair could do his ‘deal in the desert’ with Colonel Gaddafi days later in a tent outside Tripoli.

Last month, Attorney General Jeremy Wright was forced to say sorry to the couple and revealed that Ms Boudchar was being given £500,000 in compensation as she watched in the Commons today.

Libyan dissident Abdel Hakim Belhaj holds a letter of apology he received by the British government today for his abduction was aided by MI6

Libyan dissident Abdel Hakim Belhaj holds a letter of apology he received by the British government today for his abduction was aided by MI6

Fatima Boudchar was pregnant with her son Abderrahim Belhaj, 14, (pictured together in Westminster last month). She being handed £500,000 by the British Government and a written apology for their treatment

Fatima Boudchar was pregnant with her son Abderrahim Belhaj, 14, (pictured together in Westminster last month). She being handed £500,000 by the British Government and a written apology for their treatment

Hakim Belhaj (pictured) and his wife Fatima Boudchar were grabbed in Thailand in 2004 after MI6 tipped off the CIA who took them to Colonel Gaddafi for imprisonment. Mr Belhaj was also tortured

Mr Belhaj (pictured last month) and his wife Fatima Boudchar were grabbed in Thailand in 2004 after MI6 tipped off the CIA who took them to Colonel Gaddafi for imprisonment. Mr Belhaj was also tortured

Belhaj, who is a Libyan politician who splits his time between Tripoli and Turkey, was unable to come to London because of ongoing peace talks. 

He said he would settle the case for £3 – £1 for him, his wife and their unborn baby – but today it was confirmed he was given no payout at all. 

Speaking from Istanbul at the time he said: ‘From the very first moment, I insisted that there must be an apology. I never asked for money because I don’t want to impose this on taxpayers’. 

He also thanked Theresa May for her ‘heartfelt’ letter admitting Britain ‘contributed to their detention, rendition and suffering’. 

The legal battle began because documents (pictured) discovered in Tripoli, Libya, during the fall of Gaddafi revealed how MI6 were involved in the rendition of Hakim Belhaj and his wife

The legal battle began because documents (pictured) discovered in Tripoli, Libya, during the fall of Gaddafi revealed how MI6 were involved in the rendition of Hakim Belhaj and his wife

On 18 March, senior MI6 officer Sir Mark Allen sent a message (pictured) to his Libyan counterpart Moussa Koussa saying he believed the capture was thanks to the British

On 18 March, senior MI6 officer Sir Mark Allen sent a message (pictured) to his Libyan counterpart Moussa Koussa saying he believed the capture was thanks to the British

The couple’s son Abderrahim, now 14, who was in his mother’s womb when they were kidnapped, was in London with her for the apology. 

Mr Belhaj thanked Theresa May for her written apology and said: ‘There an admission of the shortcomings, an expression of unreserved apology, lessons learned, admission of failings and an expression of disappointment towards the international partners that I was handed over to’. 

Dissident’s pregnant wife claims CIA ‘hit her in the stomach’ before her 4lb baby was born

Fatima Boudchar has described the moment she and her husband were kidnapped by the CIA in Thailand and the horrors of ending up in a filthy Libyan cell.

Ms Boudchar was pregnant when she was snatched in March 2004 and would give birth in Tripoli around four months.  

The Libyans let her go on the eve of giving birth to her son Abderrahim, who was in London with her today.

She said: ‘After what the CIA did to me, my baby weighed four pounds’.

The Moroccan-born woman had never even been to Libya in her life. 

The couple had moved from country to country hiding from Gaddafi’s ‘killers’ because her husband was an outspoken critic of the regime and branded a terrorist by the dictator.  

Describing her ordeal she told the New York Times on Tuesday: ‘I’ll never forget the sight of my kidnappers, dressed all in black and wearing ski masks, waiting for me in a white cell in the Bangkok detention site.

‘A man grabbed my head and shoved me into a truck. They blindfolded and trussed me.I have no idea how long I was in the Thai secret prison because no one would let me sleep. 

‘The masked abductors were waiting. I was terrified. They chained me to the hooks. Because I was midway through my pregnancy, I could barely move or sit.

‘Some of what they did to me in that prison was so awful I can’t talk about it. They hit me in the abdomen just where the baby was. To move me, they bound me to a stretcher from head to toe, like a mummy. I was sure I would shortly be killed’. 

The couple had moved from country to country hiding from Gaddafi’s ‘killers’ because her husband was an outspoken critic of the regime and branded a terrorist by the dictator.

Britain told the US they were in Malaysia travelling on French passports under assumed names.

When they landed in Thailand the CIA were ready to grab them in Bangkok’s airport. 

His wife was jailed but released just before she gave birth to him in prison in 2004 and she said the £500,000 and the apology proves ‘their torture was not and could never be justified’.

International human rights group Reprieve and the Belhaj family say their abduction was a direct result of a joint MI6-CIA operation following the ‘deal in the desert’ in which Tony Blair’s government re-opened diplomatic links with Gaddafi.

Former foreign secretary Jack Straw and ex-MI6 chief Sir Mark Allen also face questions about their handling of the affair.

Attorney General Jeremy Wright said the agreement meant the Government did not have to admit any legal liability for what happened to Hakim Belhaj and his wife Fatima Boudchar in 2004.

But Prime Minister Theresa May has personally written to them both to apologise for their ‘appalling’ treatment, Mr Wright announced in the Commons.

He said Ms Boudchar was being given £500,000 despite the Government not admitting liability. He said Mr Belhaj had never asked for money and will not receive any.

In statements issued by their lawyers, Mr Belhaj and Ms Boudchar said they accepted the apology from Mrs May and the Government.

Mr Wright told MPs it was important for the security services to learn from ‘where we got things wrong’, but said they were not admitting liability in a carefully worded statement.

Mr Wright said the UK Government ‘believes’ the accounts and admitted Britain had ‘contributed’ to the appalling treatment they received.

He said: ‘We are profoundly sorry for the ordeal you suffered and our role in it.’ 



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