Leaked British govt memo fuels 'rendition' row
(AFP)
Updated: 2006-01-19 09:04

The British government appeared to be uncertain about the number of US "rendition" flights through British airspace, according to a leaked document.

A Foreign Office memo to Downing Street -- obtained by the New Statesman magazine -- suggests the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) may have operated more flights than the two already confirmed by London.

The report follows the publication earlier Wednesday of a dossier compiled by Scotland's main opposition party implicating firms in helping what it alleged were US flights transporting terror suspects through Scottish airports.

The Foreign Office memo, which was written in early December, is said to be a "primer" to help Prime Minister Tony Blair respond to questions about the rendition, the transfer of detainees between countries.

On December 12 last year, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said official checks had shown no occasion since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States when Washington requested the use of British airspace for rendition flights.

Straw told parliament he was aware of only two previous cases when such a request had been approved -- both to transfer suspects to the United States in 1998.

A further request to transfer another detainee to a third country was denied, he added.

But the memo said: "We are urgently examining the files. We cannot say that we have received no such request for the use of UK territory.

"The papers we have uncovered so far suggest that there could be more than the two cases referred to in the House (of Commons) by the Foreign Secretary."

Channel 4 News television also said that the document warns that both rendition -- the extra-judicial transfer of a suspect to US jurisdiction -- and "extraordinary rendition" -- transfer to a third country -- are "probably usually illegal in international law".

Blair should try to move the debate to another subject if asked about it, it suggested.

Both the Foreign Office and Downing Street said Wednesday they would not comment on a leaked document.

Responding to the memo, civil liberties groups accused the government of deflecting their concerns while opposition parties suggested it undermined Blair's credibility.

Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party (SNP) said it was sending a copy of its report to Scotland's First Minister, Jack McConnell, the Council of Europe, the European and British parliaments.

The document lists planes, where and the dates on which they landed plus 10 companies that have allegedly operated on behalf of the CIA.