Government to compensate ex-Guantanamo Bay detainees

UK resident Binyam Mohamed had sought compensation following his release

UK TORTURE CLAIMS

Around
a dozen men who accused British security forces of colluding in their
torture overseas are to get millions in compensation from the UK
government.

Some of the men, who are all British citizens or residents, were detained at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba.

At least six of them alleged UK forces were complicit in their torture before they arrived at Guantanamo.

The Commons will debate the payout when Justice Secretary Ken Clarke makes a statement on Tuesday afternoon.

A written ministerial statement on the out-of-court
settlement, which had been expected on Tuesday morning, was withdrawn by
the Ministry of Justice.

Lengthy negotiations

It is believed the government wanted to avoid a lengthy and
costly court case which would also have put the British secret
intelligence services under the spotlight.

Bisher al-Rawi, Jamil el Banna, Richard Belmar, Omar
Deghayes, Binyam Mohamed and Martin Mubanga were among those who had
begun High Court cases against the government.

They had claimed that UK intelligence agencies and three
government departments were complicit in their torture and should have
prevented it.

In May, the Court of Appeal ruled that the government was
unable to rely on "secret evidence" to defend itself against the six
cases.

Then, in July, the High Court ordered the release of some of the 500,000 documents relating to the case.

At least 60 government lawyers and officials have been working through the documents.

The controversial Guantanamo Bay camp was run by US forces

The settlement was believed to have been agreed after lengthy negotiations.

BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins said the
Intelligence and Security Committee and the National Audit Office would
be briefed about the payments.

He said the government would now be able to move forward with
plans for an inquiry, led by Sir Peter Gibson, into claims that UK
security services were complicit in the torture of terror suspects.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said of the payments:
"It's not very palatable but there is a price to be paid for
lawlessness and torture in freedom's name. There are torture victims who
were entitled to expect protection from their country.

"The government now accepts that torture is never justified and we were all let down - let's learn all the lessons and move on."

Severely tortured

The Cabinet Office said: "The prime minister set out clearly
in his statement to the House (of Commons) on July 6 that we need to
deal with the totally unsatisfactory situation where for 'the past few
years, the reputation of our security services has been overshadowed by
allegations about their involvement in the treatment of detainees held
by other countries'."

Tuesday's statement is expected to be made by Justice Secretary Ken Clarke.

The UK security services have always denied any claims that they have used or condoned the use of torture.

Last month, the head of MI6, Sir John
Sawers described torture as "illegal and abhorrent" and defended the
service's need for secrecy.

Mr Mohamed, from west London, was held in Pakistan in 2002
before US agencies moved him to Morocco, where he was severely tortured,
before he was sent on to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

It later emerged that a British intelligence officer visited
him in detention in Pakistan and that the CIA had told London what
mistreatment he had suffered.

Mr Mohamed, 32, had alleged that his torturers in Morocco had asked questions supplied by MI5.

He was released in 2009, when allegations of British involvement in torture returned to prominence.

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