LONDON — Contradicting previous denials about Britain’s participation in the Bush administration’s global war on terrorism, Defense Minister John Hutton said Thursday that Britain had handed over two terrorism suspects captured in Iraq to the U.S., which sent them to Afghanistan, where they’re still being held after more than four years.
The men, thought to be Pakistani nationals, are members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani Islamist group with links to al-Qaeda, and have been classified as “unlawful enemy combatants,” Hutton said.
His disclosure contradicts past claims by the British government that it was never complicit in the practice of extraordinary rendition, in which detainees are sent to third countries, including some in which torture is commonplace.
The revelation sparked criticism from opposition politicians and civil-liberties groups, who charged that the government is revealing details of its complicity in America’s crackdown on terrorism in bits and pieces, and only after repeated denials.
Hutton said he now knew that some Cabinet ministers were aware that the two were handed over to the U.S. and transferred to Afghanistan in 2004. The government, however, continued to deny that such practices had occurred, and the cases were exposed after a review of detentions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hutton apologized for the past misinformation provided to members of Parliament.
