Over the past few weeks, evidence has been emerging and pressure has been growing for an independent inquiry into the UK's involvement in extraordinary rendition, both of British nationals/residents and foreign nationals with no ties to the UK, by being complicit in torture, facilitating the "rendition" (kidnap and torture) of individuals in Iraq, Pakistan, Gambia, etc. and allowing "rendition" flights to stop over, fly over or refuel on British territory. Calls have been made by politicians, including Conservative Party leader David Cameron, for an independent inquiry.
This morning, former Guantánamo detainee and "rendition" survivor Binyam Mohamed spoke on the Radio 4 Today programme. He stated that he would not have faced the horrific ordeal that he has had the British intelligence services not intervened and fed information to the CIA http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7940958.stm According to the accompanying BBC news report, the British government has stated that "it does not condone torture, but will investigate claims"; an independent inquiry would go a long way into substantiating this oft-repeated line by the government. Current investigations by the Attorney General and the parliamentary ISC are not independent.
In this same article, the US claimed that Mr. Mohamed "has a history of making unsubstantiated claims", this being the same country that had no qualms about torturing Mr. Mohamed to extract claims that cannot be and have not been substantiated from him and which has unrelentingly peddled false claims against those - running into the many thousands. beyond Guantánamo - it has falsely imprisoned over the past 7 1/2 years, under the so-called "war on terror".
Take action - write to your MP and the Foreign Office now and demand a full independent public inquiry!

Please find below the LGC's new 16-page report into a parliamentary meeting recently held on the issue of extraordinary rendition. "Extraordinary rendition" is basically kidnap and torture; the UK has been involved in this for many years.

The London Guantánamo Campaign welcomes Binyam Mohamed back to the UK.

Courtesy of Reprieve, this is Binyam Mohamed's statement upon his return to the UK. Welcome home Binyam!

I hope you will understand that after everything I have been through I am neither physically nor mentally capable of facing the media on the moment of my arrival back toBritain. Please forgive me if I make a simple statement through my lawyer. I hope to be able to do better in days to come, when I am on the road to recovery.

I have been through an experience that I never thought to encounter in my darkest nightmares. Before this ordeal, "torture" was an abstract word to me. I could never have imagined that I would be its victim. It is still difficult for me to believe that I was abducted, hauled from one country to the next, and tortured in medieval ways - all orchestrated by the United States government. 

The London Guantánamo Campaign and Brighton Against Guantánamo held a demonstration on Tuesday (17 February) lunchtime to call on the US president to release British resident Binyam Mohamed who has been held at Guantánamo Bay without trial for over four and a half years. Free Binyam now!

                 Update: Binyam Mohamed returns home!

On 1 February, several newspaper reported that Binyam Mohamed, who has been on hunger strike for over a month, is "close to death". Today, a High Court judgment revealed that the US bullied the UK into not disclosing information it has about Binyam's torture in Morocco or it would not share intelligence information any more (please see Reprieve press release below). Take action now...time is running out...it's now or never for Binyam!

Kicking off a weekend of actions around London to mark the seventh anniversary of the opening of the American detention camp at Guantánamo Bay on 11 January 2002, the London Guantánamo Campaign held an evening of words and film in solidarity with the last Londoner in Guantánamo Bay, Ladbroke Grove resident Binyam Mohamed on Friday 9 December.

Sunday 11 January 2009 marked seven years of lawlessness, torture, abuse, arbitrary detention and all the extralegal excesses committed by the Bush administration in the name of the "war on terror" as the detention and torture camp at Guantánamo Bay "celebrated" its seventh birthday.

Along with pictures of dead Iraqi children and the manmade tragedy following Hurricane Katrina, the orange jumpsuits, shackles and black hoods worn by the Guantánamo detainees will be one of the enduring images of the Bush administration for generations to come.

Related article: Binyam's Story: From Ladbroke Grove to GTMO