Vital US intelligence tip-offs 'could dry up after Binyam ruling'

'Inhuman treatment': Binyam Mohamed was held for seven years
13 April 2012

The flow of "valuable" intelligence information to Britain from America has been damaged because of a court ruling on former Guantanamo detainee Binyam Mohamed, the Government's terror watchdog warned today.

David Anderson QC was in "no doubt" that fewer tip-offs from the CIA and other US intelligence sources were being shared with the UK, and that the supply might dry up further.

It was "of the highest importance" that legal changes were introduced to address the problem, said Mr Anderson, the independent reviewer of counter-terrorism legislation. The sharing of information was "vital to our national security".

Born in Ethiopia, Mr Mohamed, 33, lived in North Kensington after seeking asylum in the UK. He was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 and held for seven years, suspected by the US of fighting alongside the Taliban in Pakistan. All charges were dropped in 2009.

In 2010, the Court of Appeal ordered the release of US intelligence material given to Britain on the understanding that it would not be made public. It showed Mr Mohamed had been subject to "cruel, inhuman and degrading" treatment in Pakistan, and that British officials were told of the abuse.

Ministers warned at the time that publication would breach the key "control principle" of intelligence-sharing under which governments agree not to publish information given in confidence by allies, and lead to less material being sent to Britain from the US.

Mr Anderson today backed Justice Secretary Ken Clarke's moves to limit the impact of the ruling through legal changes restricting release of secret information. Civil liberties campaigners claim Mr Clarke's plans would let further human rights abuses be hidden.

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