Jack Straw under renewed pressure over 'torture flights'
16.12.05
The government came under renewed pressure in the Commons yesterday amid 'widespread public disquiet' about allegations that the US has used UK airports to transfer prisoners to be tortured abroad. As members of the all-party parliamentary group on extraordinary rendition put a series of detailed questions to the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, Liberal Democrat and Tory MPs launched fresh challenges on the issue.
At question time yesterday Tony Blair said it would be 'completely absurd' to investigate every US government plane which flew into the country. But David Heath, for the Liberal Democrats, said: 'Many of us do expect the government to know which governments' planes from oversees, regardless of whether they are friendly or not, are flying through British airspace and for what reason they are landing at British airports.'
Tory Andrew Tyrie, who has tabled the questions to Mr Straw, accused Commons leader Geoff Hoon of 'astonishing complacency' for saying all questions on the issue have been answered. Mr Tyrie said: 'There is now very widespread public disquiet. What we are talking about here is people being kidnapped around the world and transported to countries which practice torture, some of whom have subsequently been released and who have described the horrific torture that they have been subjected to.'
'Condoleezza Rice's assurances on this have been shown to be completely hollow by the legal community in the UK and the foreign secretary's assurances are of course that he has been looking at records and can't find anything. Of course he can't find anything - the home secretary said to me records are not kept once the transit has been completed.'
Mr Hoon said the government had clearly set out its position, adding: 'I think you should accept those indications as recognition of the very detailed research that has been undertaken both here and in the United States and also accept that neither the US government or this Government accept at all the idea that people should be transported around the world in order that they should be tortured. I hope if you think again you will withdraw that particular allegation.'
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