The Government has announced it’s considering a judge-led inquiry into UK involvement in torture and rendition following the publication of two reports into the subject by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) last week.
Minister Sir Alan Duncan promised, in response to an urgent question by Ken Clarke in the House of Commons, that a decision would be made within 60 days of the date of the ISC reports.
It’s right that the Government is now considering a judge-led inquiry into UK involvement in torture and rendition. The Prime Minister should listen to the growing cross-party support, including from two former Conservative cabinet ministers in the House of Commons today.
This is not a party-political issue or about blaming individual agents, it’s an opportunity to fix the institutional failures that led to this appalling mistreatment and ensure the guidance to our intelligence officers is strengthened and clarified so that this cannot happen again.