 |
Sarah Teather and Brent Liberal DemocratsWorking Hard for Brent |
 |
Torture Files Must Be Released - Teather Tells Miliband
February 5, 2009 6:00 PM
Local MP Sarah has spoken out against torture in the House of Commons
Liberal Democrat MP for Brent East Sarah Teather has called on the Foreign Secretary to release full details of the UK government's alleged role in covering up the torture of British resident Binyam Mohamed at Guantánamo Bay.
This week senior judges revealed that America had threatened to stop sharing intelligence information with Britain if the damaging torture revelations were released. Meanwhile, allegations that British intelligence officers were involved have been referred to the Attorney-General.
Sarah is the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Guantánamo Bay, and successfully campaigned for the return of Brent resident Jamil el-Banna from the camp in March 2008.
Local Liberal Democrat MP for Brent East Sarah Teather said:
"Torture is wrong, pure and simple. Civilised and democratic governments, including Britain, should have absolutely no role in a practice which is both ineffective and inhumane.
"It is not enough simply to speak out against torture; the Foreign Secretary has a duty to help root out and end such horrific practices. We cannot stamp out torture unless we know why and how it was allowed to happen. If the British government is sitting on vital evidence then they should immediately release it to the public.
"Barack Obama's commitment to close Guantánamo has been welcomed by people all over the world, but long after the detention camp is closed the damage it has done will linger on. We need a full investigation to make sure that international law can never be flouted in such a way again.
"There is no excuse to put our so-called 'special relationship' before the rule of law. The Labour government should be standing up to the United States, not colluding in a cover up. People in Brent and across the UK have a right to know if British residents have been subjected to torture."
Related Links
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats
-
Help out or donate
-
Tell us what you think