Proceeding contribution from Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat) in the House of Commons on Thursday, 21 February 2008. It occurred during Ministerial statement on Terrorist Suspects (Renditions).
Terrorist Suspects (Renditions)
I am grateful to the Foreign Secretary for his courtesy in giving me advance notice of his intention to make a statement. May I take up with the Foreign Secretary the question of belief? In December 2005, I believed his predecessor, and his predecessor believed the American Government, but both of us have been proved wrong. Is it any wonder, then, that there is some scepticism about the extent to which we can believe information that is now being put before us? The issue here is not met by expressions of disappointment. The truth is that this is a gross embarrassment for the British Government, in spite of their good faith, involving as it does a breach of our moral obligations and possibly of our legal responsibilities as well, which the Foreign Secretary hinted at in his statement when he referred to the fact that there have been consultations between legal teams of the United Kingdom and the United States. In the further investigation that is to take place, will the Foreign Secretary ensure that particular attention is paid to the airports at Stornoway, Campbeltown and Prestwick, because of their convenience for transatlantic refuelling? Does not all this reveal that as far as Diego Garcia is concerned, we have absolutely no effective control over what happens there? For how long is that sustainable? If the roles were reversed, is it conceivable that the American Government, or indeed the American Congress, would tolerate such a set of circumstances?
Secondary information
- Type
- Proceeding contribution
- Reference
- 472 c553-4
- Session
- 2007-08
- Chamber / Committee
- House of Commons chamber
- Subjects
- Detainees Aviation British overseas territories Prisoners' transfers Terrorism Torture USA Rendition Diego Garcia
- Link
- View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk
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- 2023-12-15 23:48:23 +0000
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- http://data.parliament.uk/pimsdata/hansard/CONTRIBUTION_447200
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