Last November we reported how Binyam Mohamed had been tortured with the enthusiastic participation of the British security services.

“Binyam Mohamed lived in London as a refugee from 1994 to 2001. He then went to Afghanistan, and then Pakistan, where he was picked up as a terrorist suspect. Held incommunicado in Pakistan, he was questioned for a time by a British agent. He was the object of rendition to Morocco, where he was tortured. Among other things his penis was slashed with a razor. From the close questioning he received about his years in Britain, it was clear that British intelligence was co-operating with his interrogation. Binyam takes up the story. “Today I was questioned about my links with Britain. The interrogator told me, ‘We have been working with the British, and we have photos of people given to us by MI5. Do you know these?’ I realized that the British were sending questions to the Moroccans. I was at first surprised that the Brits were siding with the Americans. I sought asylum in Britain rather than America because it’s known as the one country that has laws that it follows. To say that I was disappointed at this moment would be an understatement.”

For the full story go to http://www.socialist.net/miliband-covers-up-for-torture.htm

The squalid role of the British government, and of Foreign Secretary David Miliband in particular, has been highlighted by their guilty attempts to cover the whole scandal up.

Miliband has slapped a gagging order on the High Court to hush up the incident on the ground that it endangers national security. It is quite clear is all that is really endangered is the Miliband’s reputation How can the man possibly posture before the world as a democratic and defender of civil liberties if this shameful secret comes out?

The judges had no choice but to accept the gag, but put the boot in to Miliband and the government in the finest judicial English:

"It was, in our view, very difficult to conceive that a democratically elected and accountable government could possibly have any rational objection to placing into the public domain such a summary of what its own officials reported as to how a detainee was treated by them and which made no disclosure of sensitive intelligence matters.

"Indeed we did not consider that a democracy governed by the rule of law would expect a court in another democracy to suppress a summary of the evidence contained in reports by its own officials ... relevant to allegations of torture and cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment, politically embarrassing though it might be.”

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, added: "Despite best efforts to shine a light on the grubbiest aspects of the 'war on terror', the Foreign Office has claimed that the Obama administration maintained a previous US threat to reconsider intelligence sharing unless our judges kept this shameful skeleton in the closet. We find this Foreign Office allegation ... surprising."

Meanwhile Binyam remains in Guantanamo six years later, still with no release date in sight. He is reported to be nothing but skin and bone after several hunger strikes. Insiders fear he may finally leave the prison in a coffin.

His brother Dr Mohamed said he believed Mr Miliband had failed to protect Binyam’s human rights:

"I did write to Mr Miliband, but I didn't get any answer from him," he said. "I was truly begging him to do something about Binyam, that was my plea, but I didn't hear anything.

"I feel very sad. I feel betrayed. It's very cruel from a person who is elected by the people to protect humanity and freedom and the rule of law."