British spies await findings of torture probe
British spies will discover later whether they will face charges over their alleged complicity in the torture of terror suspects.
Several MI5 and MI6 agents are understood to be at the centre of criminal investigations into the treatment of former detainees, including UK resident Binyam Mohamed (pictured).
Prisoners at Guantanamo Bay claim British security and intelligence officials colluded in their torture and abuse while they were held at the controversial detention centre.
The Crown Prosecution Service will issue a statement “announcing a number of decisions in relation to the investigations into the alleged ill-treatment of detainees”.
Several news agencies are reporting that the police and the director of public prosecutions will find that no evidence has been uncovered that agents from either service were aware of the torture of detainees.
The announcement will come the day after human rights campaigners condemned the US government’s ongoing failure to close Guantanamo, 10 years after the arrival of the first detainees.
An inquiry into British complicity in torture and rendition, under Sir Peter Gibson, was due to begin in the wake of the police investigation.
Foreign Secretary William Hague has stressed the government’s commitment to “drawing a line” under the alleged involvement of intelligence agencies in the torture of terror suspects held overseas.
But human rights groups and lawyers are refusing to give evidence or attend any meetings with the inquiry team because it does not have “credibility or transparency”.
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A number of British Muslims have complained that they were questioned by agents after being tortured in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Guantanamo.
Others say they were tortured in places such as Egypt, Dubai, Morocco and Syria, while being interrogated on the basis of information that could only have been supplied by the UK.
In November 2010, Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke announced that secret payouts to 16 former detainees at Guantanamo were being made to pave the way for the inquiry into allegations of torture.
Mohamed, Bishar Al Rawi, Jamil El Banna, Richard Belmar, Omar Deghayes, Moazzam Begg and Martin Mubanga were said to be among those receiving settlements.
Read more: Britain's alleged role in Libya rendition condemned