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MI5 historian: 'War on terror' policies 'worst'
The treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib by the US authorities has been "hugely detrimental" to the fight against terrorism, "creating long-lasting grievances" against the West, the official historian of MI5 said today.
Christopher Andrew, whose authorized book on the history of the Secret Service has just been published, said: "There may be worse policies to have, but I can't think of many." Use of torture, he added, was not only morally wrong, but created the danger of getting answers from suspects which were incorrect.
Allegations that MI5 agents had condoned the torture of Binyam Mohamed al-Habashi, a British resident, by foreign intelligence agencies, is the subject of an ongoing investigation by Scotland Yard.