To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions since April 2005 the Government has sought assurances from the US administration on the treatment of detainees, as referred to in the Government's Response to paragraph 131 of the Intelligence and Security Committee's Report on the Handling of Detainees by UK Intelligence Personnel in Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay and Iraq, Cm 6511. (260259)

Conclusion of the Intelligence and Security Committee's Rendition Report of July 2007 notes that from April 2004

“assurances on humane treatment were properly and routinely sought in operations that involved any risk of rendition and/or U.S. custody.”

Detention issues are the subject of frequent and regular discussions with the US administration.

Because of the wide ranging nature of these exchanges we cannot provide statistics on this matter, but they include discussion of policy and processes in place to prevent any mistreatment, as well as detailed discussion of individual cases. Continued close co-operation with the US is absolutely critical to the UK's ability to counter the threat to the UK posed by global terrorism.