Detainee Mistreatment: Judge-led Inquiry Debate

Full Debate: Read Full Debate
Department: Cabinet Office

Detainee Mistreatment: Judge-led Inquiry

Kelvin Hopkins Excerpts
Monday 15th July 2019

(4 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts

Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.

Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.

This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record

David Lidington Portrait Mr Lidington
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

I agree with the final point that my hon. Friend makes, but I ask him to take account of the fact that we are dealing with the work of security and intelligence agencies—work on which the safety, and indeed the lives, of our citizens often depends—and that information about how operations are carried out can be of great value to our adversaries.

Kelvin Hopkins Portrait Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) (Ind)
- Hansard - -

It must surely be the objective of all civilised countries to ensure that such events as rendition and the mistreatment of detainees never occur across the world. If we are to achieve that, should we not stand on the highest possible moral ground?

David Lidington Portrait Mr Lidington
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

We should certainly act on the highest possible moral grounds. I believe that we have a statutory framework in which we can take considerable pride, and that marks a significant improvement on the practices that the Intelligence and Security Committee previously criticised.