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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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July 20th,
2010 - Group Wants Torture Inquiry Change News article from the Press
Association |
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Group Wants Torture Inquiry Change From the Press Association July 20, 2010 A human rights group has
called for the removal of the judge leading an inquiry into torture
allegations against the UK's security services. Prime Minister David Cameron
this month appointed former appeal court judge Sir Peter Gibson as chairman
of the investigation into claims of British complicity in the abuse of
detainees abroad since the 9/11 attacks on the US. However, legal charity Reprieve
have written to Sir Peter asking him to disqualify himself because his
impartiality was "fatally compromised" as a result of his
connections to the security services. As Intelligence Services Commissioner
since 2006, Sir Peter is the official watchdog for Britain's spy agencies. Reprieve said he should not
be the judge of whether his own work in overseeing the security services was
effective, adding that he should be a witness to the inquiry rather than its
chairman. Clive Stafford Smith,
director of Reprieve, said: "Welcome though the torture inquiry is, the
current structure is a sham. "Sir Peter Gibson was
perhaps the least appropriate judge to evaluate the security services. The
Government must get serious about learning the mistakes of the past, rather
than try to cover them up, or we are in for a long, hot summer." Reprieve highlighted former
Foreign Secretary David Miliband's revelation in a recent BBC interview that
Sir Peter had already carried out a secret inquiry into the torture
complicity allegations. It also noted that each of
Sir Peter's annual reports as Intelligence Services Commissioner had
described all members of the security services as "trustworthy,
conscientious and dependable", which it said "entirely
prejudged" the issues before the new inquiry. In his letter to Sir Peter,
which was copied to Mr Cameron, Mr Stafford Smith wrote: "I invite you
to consider whether you can continue to act, with the confidence of both the
public and the alleged victims of complicity in torture, in your independence
and impartiality." Downing Street said Mr Cameron had full confidence in
Sir Peter. The inquiry was announced on
July 6 following claims by former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed that
he was tortured with the knowledge of the British security services while
held by the CIA in Pakistan. Copyright © 2010 The Press
Association. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5goggpiZWS44JzD1YIYzhAG8fKf0g Judge leading
torture inquiry has conflict of interest, legal charity says Reprieve says Sir Peter Gibson cannot fairly investigate security
services he used to oversee but No 10 defends choice By Sam Jones The Guardian July 20, 2010 A leading legal charity has
called on a senior judge to step down from the inquiry he is leading into
allegations that the UK has been involved in torture, saying his impartiality
is "fatally compromised" because of his relationship with the
security services. Sir Peter Gibson, a former
appeal court judge, was appointed by David Cameron earlier this month to
chair the investigation into claims of British complicity in the abuse of detainees
abroad since the 9/11 attacks. Reprieve raised a number of
concerns about his suitability for the job in an 11-page letter to Gibson,
copied to the prime minister. It says Sir Peter, who has
overseen the security services for the last four years in his role as the
intelligence services commissioner (ISC), cannot be expected to scrutinise
his own work. The charity says the former
foreign secretary, David Miliband, has revealed that Gibson secretly
investigated allegations of misconduct at the previous government's request.
His findings remain secret but charity fears they might prejudice the current
inquiry. Reprieve goes on to ask
Gibson whether he considers his opinion - expressed in three consecutive
reports between 2006 and 2008 - that security services personnel were
"trustworthy, conscientious and dependable" reflects a bias. It contrasts his assertion
with Lord Neuberger's finding earlier this year, in which the master of the
rolls concluded that MI5 did not respect human rights, had failed to renounce
participation in "coercive interrogation" techniques, and had
"a culture of suppression" in its dealings with Miliband and the
court. Given that it was part of
his job as ISC to supervise ministerial authorisations that would allow the
security services to violate the law abroad, says Reprieve, he would have to
appear as a witness before the inquiry that he also chairs. The letter asks:
"Please could you explain how you are able to preside over an inquiry
about British complicity in torture during the time period in which you were
responsible for the statutory oversight of the security and intelligence
services? "The allegation that
you will have to rule on is (with apologies for putting it so frankly) that
you were either asleep on your watch or were hoodwinked. Out of fairness to
victims of torture, the security services and yourself, do you believe that
you can rule fairly on such issues?" Clive Stafford Smith, the
director of Reprieve, said there was a "patently obvious basis for a
judge to remove himself", adding that given the scale of Gibson's
conflict of interest, the matter was really "an incredibly uncontentious
issue". He told a press conference
this morning that he had repeatedly written to Cameron to raise his concerns,
but had not "received the first whisper of a response". He added: "If they
refuse to discuss this in private, then we will spend the rest of the summer
discussing it in public." Stafford Smith also
confirmed that the group would look at its legal options if Sir Peter refused
to step down. He added: "Welcome
though the torture inquiry is, the current structure is a sham. Sir Peter
Gibson was perhaps the least appropriate judge to evaluate the security
services. The government must get serious about learning the mistakes of the
past, rather than try to cover them up, or we are in for a long, hot
summer." A Downing Street spokesman
said that the prime minister had full confidence in Gibson. External link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/jul/20/gibson-judge-torture-intelligence |