Prisoners

(asked on 16th October 2014) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the statement made by the then Prime Minister to the House on 2 March 1972 on the use of the five techniques relating to interrogation of prisoners is still the policy of the Government.


Answered by
James Brokenshire Portrait
James Brokenshire
This question was answered on 27th October 2014

None of the five techniques which the 1972 Committee considered is permissible under current law.

UK police forces are required to adhere to the provisions PACE Code H and Schedule 8 to the Terrorism Act 2000, which deal respectively with the detention of individuals who are suspected of being involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism and the procedures which must be followed in those cases.

Independent Custody Visitors, lay individuals who visit designated places of detention of terrorist suspects additionally review and report on the condition of their detention, to the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation who annually reports on the operation of the Terrorism Acts. The Independent Reviewer plays a vital role in scrutinising UK counter-terrorism legislation to ensure that it is fair, effective and proportionate.

In 2010, the Government published the ‘Consolidated Guidance to Intelligence Officers and Service Personnel on the Detention and Interviewing of Detainees Overseas, and on the Passing and Receipt of Intelligence Relating to Detainees’. This guidance set out the principles, consistent with UK domestic law and international law obligations, which govern the interviewing of detainees overseas and the passing and receipt of intelligence relating to detainees. This guidance must be adhered to by officers of the UK’s intelligence and security agencies, members of the UK’s Armed Forces and employees of the Ministry of Defence.

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