Dubious MI5

Lord Neuberger, the judge looking at the case of Quantanamo detainee Binyam Mohamed, said today that MI5 has a dubious record over his treatment whilst in US custody. Claims about his treatment include being deprived of sleep, threatened, shackled and having his genitals cut. The judge ruled that MI5 knew about at least some of this whilst he was held, and did nothing. Gordon Brown has given his full support to MI5 tonight. Yet despite the protestations of ministers and the MI5 chief, they appear to be complicit in the torture of a suspect. The treatment this man recieved was dreadful. There is simply no way to justify it. He was not starring in an episode of '24'. This is his life, and he was held without trial for nearly seven years, shipped from Pakistan to Morocco then to Afganistan. Finally he made it to Guantanamo Bay. This sorry episode simply drags us down to the level of our foes. Defending freedom 'by any means necessary' denies that very freedom. Labour have been stealing our freedom a piece at a time for years. Add this to the list. We need to be alert to the threats to our country, and we need to give the security services the tools to keep us safe. Condoning torture is not part of the deal.