Category: 2005 – 2010

12 April 2010

On 5 March 2010, the ISC sent its Review of the Government’s Draft Guidance on Handling Detainees to the Prime Minister. It was intended that the Report would be published, along with the finalised Guidance, before the debate in the House on 18 March. In the intervening period however the Foreign Secretary sought an opportunity to discuss further with us some of the issues in our Report before it was published. That discussion has now taken place, and the Committee has today sent a letter to the Prime Minister reflecting the supplementary evidence which he and the Home Secretary provided. The letter will form an addendum to our Report when it is published in order to provide a full account of the Committee’s deliberations and conclusions on the draft Guidance.

13:57, 12 April 2010

5 March 2010

The Intelligence and Security Committee has today sent its Annual Report 2009-2010 and Review of the Guidance on Detainees to the Prime Minister. Publication is a matter for the Prime Minister, however the Committee has made clear that they expect this to take place as soon as possible.

13:57, 5 March 2010

19 February 2010

The Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee has today written the attached open letter in reply to Human Rights Watch.

20100219ISCLettertoHumanRightsWatch

13:56, 19 February 2010

16 December 2009

The Intelligence and Security Committee has sent its 2008-2009 Annual Report to the Prime Minister. Publication is a matter for the Prime Minister.

13:56, 16 December 2009

24 November 2009

On 18 November, the Cabinet Office provided the Intelligence and Security Committee with the Government’s guidance for the intelligence and security Agencies and the military, regarding the detention and interviewing of detainees overseas. The Committee has previously expressed its disappointment at the delay in providing it with the guidance (eight months). We have been told that this delay was due to the complex legal nature of these issues, and the need to consolidate previously separate guidance into one version. The Committee will consider the material, take further evidence and seek independent legal advice, before reporting our findings to the Prime Minister.

13:56, 24 November 2009

16 September 2009

On 18 March 2009 the Prime Minister made a Written Ministerial Statement on Detainees. He said:

“we will publish our guidance to intelligence officers and service personnel about the standards that we apply during the detention and interviewing of detainees overseas once it has been consolidated and reviewed by the Intelligence and Security Committee. It is right that Parliament and the public should know what those involved in interviewing detainees can and cannot do. This will put beyond doubt the terms under which our agencies and service personnel operate…. In order to ensure that our systems are robust and to be certain that any lessons have been understood, I have asked the Intelligence and Security Committee to consider any new developments and relevant information, since their 2005 Report on Detention (Cm 6469) and their 2007 Report on Rendition (Cm 7171), building on the follow-up work that they have already undertaken.”

By way of clarification, the Cabinet Office confirmed that they would consolidate the guidance before submission to us.

Despite repeated requests, this guidance has still not been provided by the Cabinet Office. Therefore we are not yet able to begin our investigation.

13:55, 16 September 2009