To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports (a) his predecessors and (b) officials in his Department received on the location of Mr Binyam Mohamed between May 2002 and May 2004; and what steps the Government took to ascertain (i) his whereabouts and (ii) the conditions in which he was being held during that period. (259029)

It is the long-standing policy of the Government not to comment on intelligence matters. The High Court’s Judgment in the case of R (Binyam Mohamed) v. Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of 21 August 2008 said,

“it is clear that the United States authorities have never informed either the SyS or any other part of the United Kingdom Government about BM's whereabouts in the period between 17 May 2002 and his transfer to Bagram in May 2004”.

In giving evidence to the Intelligence and Security Committee in 2006, the then director general of the Security Service stated that

“[This] is a case where, with hindsight, we would regret not seeking proper full assurances at the time”.