I REFER to the shameful episode of parliamentary incompetence in which Binyam Mohamed is about to be paid off generously by a stupid, supine and weak government, who were only too anxious to avoid legal proceedings despite having a strong case. The Government state that they have reached an out-of-court settlement with Binyam Mohamed and five others to pay compensation for the 'torture' they receieved. But punishment was thoroughly deserved because Binyam Mohamed had been attending a terrorist training camp in Pakistan.

The Minister of Justice, Ken Clarke, told parliament that Britain was not admitting liability, only reaching an agreement now rather than going to court later and being forced into revealing evidence contrary to the interests of national security.

There is no reason to reveal secrets, there is no reason to go to court, and there is no reason to give our money to our enemies. This is like Winston Churchill catching a German spy red-handed parachuting onto British soil and then paying his fare to the nearest military encampment so he could continue spying.

Binyam Mohamed was not tortured. Although it is not possible to judge every situation simply by watching television, it was nevertheless possible in this instance to see what was happening as his party arrived at RAF Norholt from Guantanamo Bay. The party included police perhaps, and possible immigration officials. He was not surrounded by medical staff, he was not being carried on a stretcher, he did not need a walking stick, he didn't even have his arm in a sling. What happened in Morocco may have been unpleasant, and it was the Americans who did the questioning, perhaps they got impatient and prodded him a few times to get the answers. Or it may be that he was embarrassed at being forced to admit having commited his crimes.

Intelligence agents, however, are fully aware that if they maltreat prisoners, then the prisoners will simply remain silent if they can, or tell packs of convincing-sounding lies so that the maltreatment will stop. This is why they do not use cruelty, let alone torture. Torture is something from which the victim does not recover. Binyam Mohamed came down the steps from that aircraft unaided. Whatever happened to him, it was not torture. Moreover we should not refer to it as torture, because if we do, then if we ever encounter an act of genuine torture, we will not have a word to describe it.

– Anthony Reeve, Oakway, Littledean.