As mentioned in the post immediately below, the U.K. adopted the Convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in December 1988 and the USA did so in October 1994 - also, see here. As a Convention aimed at the prevention of cruelty to fellow human beings, this must rank as one of the most important conventions entered into by government and the High Court case raises serious questions about the ethical standards of Ministers at the time.
Addendum 29th September 2010: "Torture warnings pushed aside for Britain to join U.S. in war on terror" - The Guardian 29th September.
Further - see BBC - former Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith QC told BBC's Panorama programme that queries about the legality of hooding detainees were not put to him by the Ministry of Defence. He indicated that there is some reason to believe that not asking was deliberate.
Questions are also raised about the system of military justice and whether military police can really be trusted to investigate the military. This arises from the aftermath of the action now referred to as The Battle of Danny Boy - see here and here.
The Panorama programme "Britain in the Dock" may be viewed HERE.
As much as politicians may wish to "move on" from these matters, it is not going to be possible to do so. A number of inquiries have yet to report - Baha Mousa and, of course, Chilcot. In addition, proceedings are on-going in the High Court against the British government.
Addendum - 5th October 2010: All Party Group on Extraordinary Rendition sends letter to Sir Peter Gibson
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