Former SAS soldier: "Government knew about extraordinary rendition"
A former British special forces soldier is to claim today that the government knew all about the extraordinary rendition flights and that it's "deeply involved" in the process.
Last week, the Foreign Secretary David Miliband apologised to MPs in the Commons and admitted that two US rendition flights transporting terrorists suspects for questioning by the US had landed on UK soil. The former SAS soldier, Ben Griffins, claims this "pales into insignificance" compared to British forces' actions.
He is set to tell a London press conference organised by the Stop the War Coalition: "We detained individuals and carried out our own interrogation before handing them over to the US. We were under no illusion as to what awaited the individuals handed over by us.
"For the British Government to claim that they only became aware of the use of British territory this week is disingenuous."
After years of denial, the British government admitted that two flights had refuelled on the British Indian Ocean island territory of Diego Garcia in 2002. Mr Miliband said he'd been told by the US that none of the suspects on those flights had been held at a secret detention centre of subjected to waterboarding or other forms of torture.
The former SAS soldier opposing the government's claims left the army on moral grounds at the beginning of 2007 after three months in Iraq, saying he disagreed with the "illegal" tactics of US troops
Last week, the Foreign Secretary David Miliband apologised to MPs in the Commons and admitted that two US rendition flights transporting terrorists suspects for questioning by the US had landed on UK soil. The former SAS soldier, Ben Griffins, claims this "pales into insignificance" compared to British forces' actions.
He is set to tell a London press conference organised by the Stop the War Coalition: "We detained individuals and carried out our own interrogation before handing them over to the US. We were under no illusion as to what awaited the individuals handed over by us.
"For the British Government to claim that they only became aware of the use of British territory this week is disingenuous."
After years of denial, the British government admitted that two flights had refuelled on the British Indian Ocean island territory of Diego Garcia in 2002. Mr Miliband said he'd been told by the US that none of the suspects on those flights had been held at a secret detention centre of subjected to waterboarding or other forms of torture.
The former SAS soldier opposing the government's claims left the army on moral grounds at the beginning of 2007 after three months in Iraq, saying he disagreed with the "illegal" tactics of US troops
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- richjm
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- added February 25, 2008
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