British memo urged reticence on CIA rendition flights

LONDON -- Prime Minister Tony Blair faced renewed demands yesterday for an inquiry into secret CIA flights that allegedly passed through British airports after a leaked memo indicated he was advised to avoid giving detailed answers on the issue.

The briefing paper, sent from the Foreign Office to Blair's 10 Downing St. office, advised ministers to ''avoid getting drawn on detail."

The four-page memo, dated Dec. 7, 2005, and first reported yesterday by the weekly magazine New Statesman, urged the government to ''try to move the debate on" and focus on the importance of cooperating with the United States in the war on terror.

Human rights organizations and legal groups have accused the United States of covertly moving imprisoned terror suspects between countries outside normal legal processes such as extradition. The process is known as rendition, and as extraordinary rendition when the suspect could be subjected to torture or cruel treatment during interrogation in a country outside the United States.

Nick Clegg of Britain's opposition Liberal Democrats demanded the government make an urgent statement to parliament on the memo.

''It is grossly irresponsible that, on a matter of the alleged violation of international human rights, the government's deliberate strategy has been to avoid getting drawn on detail and to spin the issue away by moving the debate on," he said. ''This document wholly undermines the prime minister's public assurances."

Shami Chakrabarti, director of the civil rights group Liberty, said she was ''incredibly disappointed" the government had opted for ''tactical deflection" instead of a robust inquiry.

According to the memo, the government was unaware of the precise number of rendition requests made by the United States. But Blair's spokesman said yesterday the government was certain only three requests had been made -- as set out by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on Dec. 12 in a statement to Parliament.

All were made by President Clinton in 1998. Two applications to return detainees to the United States were approved, while the request to transport a suspect to Egypt was turned down.

The government also said in December that it had no records of requests made by Bush administration for rendition flights through Britain to third countries.

Several European countries, as well as the European Parliament, are investigating allegations that the CIA used European airports for extraordinary rendition and set up secret prisons in several European countries.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has insisted the United States complies with the UN Convention Against Torture, and has said that Washington will not transport anyone to a country when officials believe the suspect could be tortured.

Blair has accepted and endorsed her assurances.

But human rights groups say the convention gives the United States a loophole for treatment almost indistinguishable from torture. In the memo, Britain's Foreign Office also noted the loophole.

The Convention Against Torture ''prohibition on transfer applies to torture only, not to CID (cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment). This may explain the emphasis on torture in Rice's statement."

Sir Menzies Campbell, acting leader of the Liberal Democrats, questioned Blair's decision to accept Rice's assurance.