No record of rendition flights in UK, says Straw

[Partridge: Among other things Jack Straw "had no knowledge of" was the abortive coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea - see here and here for more info on that]

No record of rendition flights in UK, says Straw
The Guardian

The foreign secretary today said there was no evidence that US "extraordinary rendition" flights had passed through the UK. Jack Straw said the Foreign Office had checked flight records and could not find anything relating to a rendition flight.

"Careful research has been unable to identify any occasion ... when we have received a request for permission by the United States for a rendition through the United Kingdom territory or airspace," Mr Straw told BBC Radio Four's Today Programme.

Last week, the Guardian revealed the details of more than 200 flights in and out of Britain by aircraft owned or controlled by the CIA.

The investigation found the CIA had used nearly 20 airports across the UK during the time when its agents had been moving terror suspects to other countries where they could face torture.

In addition to military air bases, the Guardian also discovered that the agency used civilian airports, such as Heathrow and Gatwick, during rendition flights.

Following publication of the flight details, the human rights group Liberty demanded a full investigation into the evidence. The organisation has threatened to sue the government if it fails to act.

Liberty wrote to the chief constables of 10 regions asking them to seek assurances from the US that it was not using UK airports to transport suspects.

So far, only the Greater Manchester police chief constable Michael Todd has agreed to meet the organisation to decide whether there were grounds for a criminal investigation.

However, Mr Straw today denied such flights had ever taken place. "Our people have checked through all the detail of the Liberty suggestions," he said.

"They have found no records which corroborate either the details of what Liberty say and no papers relating to any policy considerations of what Liberty say," he said.

Mr Straw admitted that two requests for flights taking suspects to the US for trial had been approved during the Clinton administration. "This could be regarded as rendition," he said.

Another - where a suspect was being taken to a third country - was refused by Mr Straw because he was "not satisfied" about the circumstances.

Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat shadow foreign secretary, today accused the government of operating a "hear no evil, see no evil" policy.

"I have no doubt of the good faith of the foreign secretary in this matter, but the truth is that the British authorities simply don't know whether extraordinary rendition is taking place using British airfields," he said. "The sooner we have a system of inspection, the better."

Sir Menzies said there were judicial inquiries taking place in Italy, Spain and Germany over extraordinary rendition, and that there was talk of a public inquiry in Canada.

"Because there are no records and because there are no requests ... doesn't mean to say that extraordinary rendition may not have been taking place," he told BBC Radio Four's The World at One programme.

"Against that background I'm pretty certain it's not enough for the government to have a kind of hear no evil, see no evil policy."

The Department of Transport also said it had no record of the aircraft landing in Britain.

Karen Buck, the aviation minister, told Sir Menzies that this "indicates that if these aircraft landed in the UK they were either not involved in civil commercial transport or were stopping for technical purposes, for example to refuel".

Last week, the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, admitted rendition flights had taken place, but defended the policy and said it had saved lives in Europe and in the US.

However, she denied the US condoned or practiced torture.

When he was challenged over extraordinary rendition in parliament last week, the prime minister, Tony Blair, said he accepted "entirely" the assurances of Ms Rice that the US did not practise torture or transport detainees to places where it believed they would be tortured. .

"Against that background I'm pretty certain it's not enough for the government to have a kind of hear no evil, see no evil policy," he told BBC Radio Four's The World at One programme.

The Department of Transport also said it had no record of the aircraft landing in Britain.

Karen Buck, the aviation minister, told Sir Menzies that this "indicates that if these aircraft landed in the UK they were either not involved in civil commercial transport or were stopping for technical purposes, for example to refuel".

Last week, the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, admitted rendition flights had taken place, but defended the policy and said it had saved lives in Europe and in the US. However, she denied the US condoned or practiced torture.

When he was challenged over extraordinary rendition in parliament last week, the prime minister, Tony Blair, said he accepted "entirely" the assurances of Ms Rice that the US did not practise torture or transport detainees to places where it believed they would be tortured.