Human Rights and Democracy - Official Documents

Consolidated guidance to intelligence officers and service personnel
While the Gibson Inquiry will examine historic issues, the Government is committed
to being as clear as possible about the standards under which intelligence officers
and service personnel operate.
The publication of 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 in July was the first time
that guidance for members of the intelligence agencies and armed forces on
detainee treatment had been made publicly available. It is right that the public is
clear about the high standards under which the intelligence agencies and our armed
forces operate.
The Government and its armed forces and intelligence agencies do not participate
in, solicit, encourage or condone the use of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment for any purpose. The guidance emphasises that there are
no circumstances in which our armed forces and intelligence agencies would take
action in the knowledge or belief that torture would take place at the hands of a third
party. If such a case were to arise, we would do everything we could to prevent
torture occurring. It makes clear that we act in compliance with our domestic and
international legal obligations and our values as a nation.
Guantanamo Bay
The Government is firmly of the view that the indefinite detention of detainees is
unacceptable and that the Guantanamo Bay detention facility should be closed. The
UK has made a contribution to the closure of the facility by taking back 14 former
detainees. Our priority now is the expeditious release and return of Shaker Aamer to
the UK. In July David Cameron underlined the Government’s commitment to that
objective and since then William Hague and Nick Clegg have both subsequently
raised his case with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Discussions between US
and UK senior officials have been ongoing since August. Ultimately any decision
regarding Mr Aamer’s release remains in the hands of the US government.
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