MPs want 'torture flights' answer
(BBC Link)There is growing pressure from MPs for ministers to shed light on claims that the CIA has used UK airports to move suspects to other nations for torture.
A new all-party group on "extraordinary renditions" will meet on Monday. Its leaders accuse the government of evading key questions on the issue. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has written to the US on behalf of the EU asking about alleged "secret prisons". The UK says it is not aware of British land being used for "torture" flights.
Condoning torture?
The new group of MPs has been formed by Conservative Andrew Tyrie, former Labour minister Chris Mullin and Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell.
Mr Tyrie told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he was surprised by the number of MPs who said they would join the group. Many people were worried that the UK might be condoning torture, he said. The group's main job would be to collect information, he said, because the government was making it very difficult to find out what was happening.
He accused the Foreign Office of producing "obfuscation and carefully worded replies" to his questions. Mr Tyrie said he had been told records of transit applications were not kept. "There is quite a lot of evidence to suggest that something is going on, that there are flights taking place to countries where they can be tortured," he said. The UK should be enforcing the law and the United Nations convention against torture, he argued.
Wow, enforcing the law. Those crazy Brits!
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But, but, but... they're evil-do'ers! They're evil. And the do evil things. And we must fight against evil and the evil do'ers.
And we can't allow evil do'ers on our soil. So we must take them to other evil do'er jails in other countries. We don't want evil do'ers in America. Not after the September the 11th, the 2001!
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