Anti-terror information obtained through torture of suspects abroad: UK

London, Aug.10 (ANI): Two senior British ministers on Sunday said they could not rule out that vital anti-terror information had been obtained through the torture of suspects abroad.

In the wake of this disclosure, campaigners have called for a judicial inquiry against British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Home Secretary Alan Johnson, even as they both strongly denied allegations of British collusion in the abuse of terror suspects overseas.

Johnson and Miliband said in a jointly written article published on Sunday that intelligence officers faced "hard choices" and that their overriding aim was to "defend both our citizens' rights and their security".

Intelligence from torture 'can save lives'"Our position is clear. The UK firmly opposes torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.When detainees are held by our police or Armed Forces, we can be sure how they are treated. By definition, we cannot have that same level of assurance when they are held by foreign governments, whose obligations may differ from our own," they wrote.

It has been claimed that British intelligence officers provided questions for detainees to be asked under interrogation.

Last week a committee of MPs and peers said that the Government had not properly investigated the claims and called for an independent inquiry.

The Telegraph quoted Tom Porteous, a director of Human Rights Watch, as saying: "There are specific, detailed and consistent allegations... and they need to be answered. Government ministers are here issuing blanket denials but not addressing the specific allegations and so there really is a need for a judicial inquiry."

Andrew Tyrie, a Conservative MP who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition, also called for a full inquiry.

"It is the only way to give the public confidence that we have got to the bottom of all of this, to draw a line under it and to move on," Tyrie said. (ANI)