War on Terror Special: How British Policy Endorsed Overseas Torture (Cobain)
Monday, August 8, 2011 at 9:07
Photo: Mark Wilson (Getty)A top-secret document revealing how MI6 and MI5 officers were allowed to extract information from prisoners being illegally tortured overseas has been seen by the Guardian.
The interrogation policy --- details of which are believed to be too sensitive to be publicly released at the government inquiry into the UK's role in torture and rendition --- instructed senior intelligence officers to weigh the importance of the information being sought against the amount of pain they expected a prisoner to suffer. It was operated by the British government for almost a decade.
A copy of the secret policy showed senior intelligence officers and ministers feared the British public could be at greater risk of a terrorist attack if Islamists became aware of its existence.