Tornado Alley (PROG)

[StephanieVanbryce]

Government to compensate ex-Guantanamo Bay detainees

15 November 2010 Last updated at 18:52 ET

About a dozen former prisoners, including Binyam Mohamed, will be granted the out-of-court settlement.

They had alleged that British security forces were complicit in their torture before they arrived at Guantanamo.

The Cabinet Office has said a ministerial statement will be made on Tuesday.

It is believed the government wanted to avoid a lengthy and costly court case which would also have put the British secret intelligence services under the spotlight.
Avoiding costs

Bisher al-Rawi, Jamil el Banna, Richard Belmar, Omar Deghayes, Binyam Mohamed, Martin Mubanga were among those who had begun High Court cases against the government.

In July, the High Court ordered the release of some of the 500,000 documents relating to the case.

BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins said that around 100 intelligence officers had been working around the clock preparing legal cases.

He said the government wanted to avoid the cost of the court case, and that the terms of the settlement would remain confidential - something wanted by both the men and ministers.

He added that the Intelligence and Security Committee and the National Audit Office would be briefed about the payments.

He said the government would now be able to move forward with plans for an inquiry, led by Sir Peter Gibson, into claims that UK security services were complicit in the torture of terror suspects.

The Cabinet Office said: "The prime minister set out clearly in his statement to the House (of Commons) on July 6 that we need to deal with the totally unsatisfactory situation where for 'the past few years, the reputation of our security services has been overshadowed by allegations about their involvement in the treatment of detainees held by other countries'."

Tuesday's statement is expected to be made by Justice Secretary Ken Clarke.

The UK security services have always denied any claims that they have used or condoned the use of torture.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11762636

Guantanamo papers: The UK's handling of detainees

15 July 2010 Last updated at 15:39 ET

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10641330