Commenting about this special Report, which was delivered to the Prime Minister on 1 March 2005, the Committee Chairman, The Rt. Hon. Ann Taylor MP, said:

‘The Committee has taken a great deal of evidence on the involvement of UK intelligence personnel in the interviewing of detainees. The UK intelligence personnel conducted or witnessed just over 2,000 interviews in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and Iraq. Our investigations have indicated that there were fewer than 15 occasions when UK intelligence personnel reported either actual or potential breaches of UK policy or the international Conventions relating to the conduct of interviews and the holding of detainees.

‘We note that the personnel were required to operate in very difficult and unusual conditions to fulfil the UK intelligence community’s duty to obtain intelligence for the purpose of protecting the UK from terrorist threats. In the vast majority of cases the US authorities were holding the detainees and access to the detainees, together with additional intelligence provided by the US, was a privilege that the US could have withdrawn.

‘Based on our investigations, we have concluded that the UK intelligence personnel deployed to Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and Iraq were not sufficiently well trained on the Geneva Conventions prior to their deployment nor did they know that the UK had prohibited certain interrogation techniques in 1972. As a consequence of this failure in training, SIS officers in Iraq twice interviewed detainees who were hooded – which is a breach of UK policy. Apart from these limited and specific breaches, we have found no evidence that UK intelligence personnel deliberately abused detainees.

‘Additionally, we have concluded that the relevant Ministers were not consulted before SIS and Security Service personnel conducted interviews of detainees in Afghanistan and we recommend that they are consulted prior to such interviews. Ministers were also not informed in a timely way about the reports from UK intelligence personnel outlining potential abuse of detainees by the US authorities and we recommend that in future they are informed immediately.’

‘We note that the personnel were required to operate in very difficult and unusual conditions to fulfil the UK intelligence community’s duty to obtain intelligence for the purpose of protecting the UK from terrorist threats. In the vast majority of cases the US authorities were holding the detainees and access to the detainees, together with additional intelligence provided by the US, was a privilege that the US could have withdrawn.

‘Based on our investigations, we have concluded that the UK intelligence personnel deployed to Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and Iraq were not sufficiently well trained on the Geneva Conventions prior to their deployment nor did they know that the UK had prohibited certain interrogation techniques in 1972. As a consequence of this failure in training, SIS officers in Iraq twice interviewed detainees who were hooded – which is a breach of UK policy. Apart from these limited and specific breaches, we have found no evidence that UK intelligence personnel deliberately abused detainees.

‘Additionally, we have concluded that the relevant Ministers were not consulted before SIS and Security Service personnel conducted interviews of detainees in Afghanistan and we recommend that they are consulted prior to such interviews. Ministers were also not informed in a timely way about the reports from UK intelligence personnel outlining potential abuse of detainees by the US authorities and we recommend that in future they are informed immediately.’

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