Calls for independent torture inquiry

Campaigners have called for a judicial inquiry on recent row mounts over abuse of detainee abroad, The Daily Telegraph reports on 9 August.

The Home Secretary Alan Johnson and the Foreign Secretary Daily Miliband said it was “not possible to eradicate all risk” that foreign allies had mistreated terrorism suspects.

They pointed out in a jointly written article published on Sunday that intelligence officers faced “hard choices” and that their overriding aim was to “defend both our citizens’ rights and their security”.

They wrote: “Our position is clear, and the UK firmly opposes torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

“When detainees are held by our police or Armed Forces we can be sure how they are treated. By definition, we cannot have that same level of assurance when they are held by foreign governments, whose obligations may differ from our own.”

Their article came following several detailed allegations of British complicity in torture.

According to today’s Guardian newspaper, Sir John Scarlett, the head of MI6, denied his officers were complicit in torture.

Scarlett told BBC Radio 4’s A Century in the Shadows programme there was “no torture and no complicity in torture” by the British secret service.

He said: “Our officers are as committed to the value and the human values of liberal democracy as anybody else.”

However, he then added: “They also have the responsibility of protecting the country against terrorism, and these issues need to be debated and understood in that context.”

Sir John Scarlett addressed the parallel concerns of what the Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary have previously underlined that our Armed Forces need to “defend both our citizens’ rights and their security”.

Scotland Yard is currently investigating an MI5 officer over the questioning of the UK resident Binyam Mohamed while he was being held incommunicado in Pakistan.

Two high court judges recently revealed MI5 knew more about the circumstances surrounding Mohamed than it had originally admitted.

However, The Guardian reports that David Miliband is continuing to refuse to allow a seven-page summary of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) about the case to be disclosed.

The CIA material is widely believed to contain evidence of what the UK knew about abuse of Mohamed.

The foreign affairs committee yesterday said the government must adopt a more healthy approach to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency about the abuse of detainees, and also it was "imperative" that the government fulfilled its legal obligations to act positively to prevent torture, and investigate allegations of it.

The parliamentary joint committee on human rights, in a stinging report last week, also said an independent inquiry was the only way to restore public confidence in the intelligence and security agencies.

Home Secretary refuses to cap the number of immigrants

Home Secretary Alan Johnson has refused to limit the number of immigrants coming to Britain, while his Immigration Minister Phil Woolas has pledged the population will not grow to 70 million, according to the Daily Mail.

Mr Johnson said he would not bring in a cap because it would harm the economy, and claims the economic contribution that immigration had made was ‘irrefutable’.

Johnson said: “I do not lie awake at night worrying about a population of 70 million.

“I’m happy to live in a multi-cultural society. I’m happy to live in a society where we not only welcome those coming to live and work in this country, but also where we can go and live and work in other countries.”

According to the paper, earlier this week, a poll found one in four Britons would like to see the population reduced by up to a third to ease overcrowding.

Seven out of ten told the Daily Mail the best way to curb population growth was to cut immigration.

The population at the moment stands at around 61 million. If it hits 70 million, it is most likely the other seven million immigrants will make up most of the rise.

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of think tank Migrationwatch said in an interview with the Daily Express: “Mr Johnson’s comments to the home affairs select committee were a seismic shift in Labour’s immigration policy and a humiliating blow to Immigration Minister Phil Woolas, who has promised to limit the population to below 70 million.”

His campaign group also warned the balance of those settling in the country would have to be reduced to 50,000 from the current level of 237,000 every year.

“The minister should be having nightmares about the impact on our schools, hospitals, environment and quality of life of another 10 million people,” Sir Andrew added.

In recent years, Labour has tried to give the impression that the party is talking tough on immigration, and tried to head off the rise of the British National Party (BNP), who defeated Labour in the Euro election last June.

The government’s points-based system is likely to cut immigrant numbers by around 8 per cent to 217,000. Tory immigration policies are likely to bring about a drop of 27 per cent to 172, 000.

Former Labour Minister Frank Field was dismissive of the Home Secretary’s claims ‘not to lie awake at night’. He said: “It must be a mis-quote because it should be."

Mr Field runs a cross-party group called Balanced Migration, which campaigns to limit the number of immigrants to manageable levels.