THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A group of former Guantanamo Bay detainees who claim they were tortured with the complicity of the British security services have been paid millions of pounds to drop legal action against the Government.
Ministers will announce tomorrow that a deal has been reached with the men, at least one of whom is expected to receive more than £1 million of taxpayers’ money.
The former terrorism suspects, some of whom were foreign residents claiming asylum in Britain, were suing the Government for damages over their treatment while in custody. The security services are thought to have pushed for the settlement in order to avoid details of their secret activities being disclosed in court.
Both MI5 and MI6 could have been forced to disclose information that could have threatened national security. Already some information from the defence was starting to slip out, causing anxiety among some senior officials.
The cost of a long running court case - which could have run into tens of millions of pounds - are also likely to have been a factor. Read on and comment >>> Andrew Porter, Political Editor | Monday, November 15, 2010
