David Miliband admitted yesterday that the Government would
use intelligence obtained under torture if it might prevent
a terror attack.
The Foreign Secretary told MPs that the Government could not
‘ignore’ evidence passed on by another country
even if it was suspected the information was extracted through
torture.
His admission is set to reignite the row over Britain’s
alleged involvement in the torture of terror suspects.
Giving evidence to the foreign affairs select committee, Mr
Miliband insisted British agents would never ‘procure’
intelligence gathered under torture.
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But he said the Foreign Office had to assess whether there
was a ‘threat to life’ before deciding whether
to use torture evidence.
Labour MP Ken Purchase relaasked if Mr Miliband would act on such information if it ‘suggested some danger was imminent to the British people’, to which the minister replied ‘Yes’.
