Straw: 'No record' of CIA flights

[cal04]

There are no records that the US has asked the UK government for permission to use its airports to move CIA suspects, Jack Straw has said. The foreign secretary says he is "as certain as he can be" that no requests have been made after "detailed searches" of official records. Liberty has asked the police to examine claims that UK airports are being used for the transfer of terror suspects. Reports claim at least 210 CIA flights had landed in the UK since 9/11.

'Two requests'
"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 4's Today programme. "Our people have checked through all the detail of the Liberty suggestions.


"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 it was the practise of the US government to ask permission of the UK when it has sought such transfers in the past. Two such requests were approved for flights taking suspects to the US for trial in 1998, under the Clinton administration, he said.

Legal action threatened
But another, where a suspect was being taken to a third country, was refused by Mr Straw because he was "not satisfied" about the circumstances. "We have checked the records as carefully as we can and I believe the answer we have given from the records suggest that there have been no such flights through United Kingdom
territory," he said. "We will continue to look at the evidence that Liberty and others have provided and to carry on making those checks." The foreign secretary said he was giving the information in response to a parliamentary question tabled by Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman. Human rights group Liberty has threatened to sue the UK Government if it fails to act.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4520508.stm

[bigscott]

1. why would anyone

expect the government to have asked?

[rodeodance]

2. I do not think we actually ask.

[LiberalFighter]

16. Why would there be any records kept?

[rodeodance]

3. and Tony Blaire as much as admits it.

Interrogation

Meanwhile, Tony Blair has said it was vital to distinguish between taking a suspect from one country to another and torture.

At prime minister's questions on 7 December, he defended cooperation with the US over the transfer of terrorism suspects and said "international conventions" had to be applied.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has admitted terror suspects are flown aboard for interrogation, but denied they were tortured.

She said suspects were moved by plane, and it was under a process known as rendition which was a "lawful weapon".

[HuffleClaw]

4. well, DUH.

of course they never asked, for they'd have been rightly refused. i bet once this is tracked down the cover was 'refuelling' and 'maintenance' or 'crew rest'.

[rman]

9. duh indeed - it's covert,

because it can't stand the light of day.

[DoYouEverWonder]

5. Doesn't it bother anyone

that in the days after people hijacked planes and flew them into buildings and supposedly were stealing crop dusters to spread deadly materials, that we have all these planes flying around that no one knows about? I would imagine it makes it that much harder to figure out who the bad guys are the next time they want to use a plane to attack us in some other way.

[godai]

6. Probably means they used Ireland or Scotland, not UK

[mrfrapp]

7. UK

The United Kingdom consists of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

[godai]

10. So, maybe they used (the Republic of) Ireland?

Not a part of UK, correct?

[Spinzonner]

8. Ah yes, government by

wink, wink, nod, nod, say no more, say no more

[bemildred]

11. "The dog ate it".

A non-denial denial. Notice how he carefully avoids saying "It did not happen!".

[Earth_First]

12. Does that imply that Blair ate it?

...afterall being W's lapdog?

[bemildred]

14. Heh. Poodles are fussy about what they eat. nt

[Norquist Nemesis]

13. " He said it was the practise of the US government to ask"

and then came the selection of Bush who changed our foreign policy with a 180. Since when did Bush ask for permission to do anything?

[WhiteTara]

15. what an asshat. Duh, no records

they must think that we are all morans! Rot in Hell Jack Straw.
IMPEACH BUSH AND SEND THEM ALL TO THE HAGUE