Downing Street Says » Written Ministerial Statement

The Prime Minister s Spokesman (PMS) told the assembled press that the Government was making clear the procedures under which our security and intelligence agencies, who as the Prime Minister said in the statement, did an excellent job protecting us all, operated.

We would also be publishing the guidance that they operated under, in relation to interrogating and interviewing detainees. We would also invite Sir Peter Gibson, who was a former Lord Justice of Appeal and the current Intelligence Services Commissioner, to monitor compliance with the guidance. We were asking the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) to consider any new developments since their previous reports on detention and rendition and we were committing to ensuring that should any potential criminal wrongdoing come to light, we would refer that to the Attorney General.

Asked if any new evidence had come to light in relation to the Binyam Mohamed case to prompt this action, the PMS said that he was not aware that any particular issues relating to any individual case had prompted this. What we were doing today was demonstrating our support and commitment to the intelligence and security agencies and the work that they did in protecting us all as well as committing to publishing the guidance under which they operated so there was a greater degree of transparency around the procedures that they operated under.

Put that the ISC had said that they had written to the Prime Minister last night about issues raised in the Binyam Mohamed case, the PMS said that he did not want to comment on the contents of the letter from the ISC but what we were setting out here and the discussion that we had been having with the ISC, had been about some of the more general points that we were addressing today. We were asking them to update any previous reports to see if there was any new information that they considered to be relevant.

Put that the ISC were suggesting that they had done that, the PMS said he had not seen the full statement from the ISC but none of this should come as a surprise to the ISC. We had been discussing this with them, so if they had felt they had done this already, we wouldn t be making this announcement today.

Put that Kim Howells had said in a statement that the ISC had sent a list of recommendations, the PMS replied that this was a different point; this was about whether there were any new developments or new information since their previous reports. Asked whether the guidance being published was the guidance as it stood now without any revisions in light of allegations that had been made, the PMS replied that the statement said that the guidance would be published once it had been consolidated and reviewed by the ISC.

Asked what the Prime Minister meant by monitor compliance with the guidance of Sir Peter Gibson, the PMS said that it meant that he would have a specific remit to satisfy himself that the security and intelligence services were operating in accordance with the guidance. Asked when the guidance would be published, the PMS said he expected that to be in a couple of months time.

Asked if it was still his understanding that the UK s intelligence and security services did not know that Binyam Mohamed was being tortured, the PMS said that it was his understanding that the Attorney General had been asked to look at whether or not there were any issues relating to any breach of criminal law. Asked if it was the first time this had been published and whether the ISC had ever had access to the guidance, the PMS said it was the first time it had been published but he would need to check as to whether or not the ISC had ever had access on a confidential basis to the guidance.

Asked if the four points being announced today pre-dated the recommendations received by the ISC, the PMS said that we hadn t decided to make this statement in the last 12 hours. Asked whether the guidance had been reviewed in recent months or years and whether there had always been guidance on the subject, the PMS said that people should check with the Foreign Office. Asked about the process of reviewing it and whether that meant changing the guidance, the PMS replied that it would be consolidated and reviewed by the ISC.

Asked if this was an acknowledgment that problems had occurred, the PMS said not at all. The Prime Minister was making very clear the support he had for the intelligence services. We had decided to take this action in full consultation with the intelligence agencies and the purpose of it was to demonstrate and make clear the exact circumstances and exact guidance under which our intelligence agencies operated.

Asked whether the Government was seriously considering publishing the interviewing techniques that the intelligence services used, the PMS said that we were seriously considering publishing the guidance and criteria under which they operated, but there would be security considerations taken into account. We would operate at all times in full consultation with the security services. Asked if they were happy for the Government to take these steps, the PMS said that they were.

Asked if that was because the security services felt the need to clean up this mess, the PMS said it would be best to speak to them directly to get a first hand account of their views, but there was a common understanding that our intelligence services did an excellent job and that they did operate to high standards.

Asked if there was any update from the Attorney General or the DPP the PMS said that there wasn t.

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» Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Written Ministerial Statement

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