Documents released by the Foreign Office reveal that the former foreign secretary authorised at least three MI6 intelligence operations where a suspect faced cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, reports The Times.
Dominic Raab said that his risk appetite for approving operations involving the potential torture of suspects was similar to ordering a spicy madras.
“The kind of torture tip-off Dominic Raab flippantly refers to is in fact unlawful – however much the government’s current policy muddies the waters on this,” said director of policy and advocacy at Reprieve, Dan Dolan, pointing to the case of Jagtar Singh Johal.
Jagtar was tortured in India after intelligence services passed on information to authorities there.
“We urgently need an outright ban on intelligence-sharing where there is a real risk of torture, and ministers should consider the experience of torture survivors next time they compare torture tip-offs to ordering a spicy curry.”
