The Foreign Affairs panel also urged the government to make
"strong representations" to the United States about the
treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
British citizens who have been released from the Cuban base or
who were detained in Afghanistan have alleged that they were
tortured.
"We find it surprising and unsettling that the government
has twice failed to answer our specific question on whether or not
the U.K. receives or acts upon information extracted under torture
by a third country," the committee said in its annual report.
"We recommend that the government give a clear answer to
the question. The government should ensure that it is understood
by other governments that the mistreatment of British nationals is
unacceptable and will be met with appropriate action."
The Foreign Office said the government "condemns the use
of torture and has worked with international partners to eradicate
the practice."
"The government never uses torture or instigates others to
use torture," the Foreign Office said.
The committee said there were compelling arguments for using
information on impending terror attacks no matter what the source,
but it said there should not be a general policy of using
information obtained through torture.
Amnesty International said it shared the committee's concerns.
"It is difficult to avoid concluding that the Government
is chillingly indifferent over the question of using blood-stained
information," the international human rights group said.
"We have repeatedly emphasized that information extracted
by torture is not only morally repugnant but also totally
unreliable and effectively useless.
"The government should make it absolutely clear that it
would not use information gained through torturing people,"
Amnesty International said.
Copyright: Associated Press.
