Letter to the Secretary of State for Foreign
and Commonwealth Affairs from the Chairman
At its most recent meeting the Foreign Affairs
Committee discussed recent developments in the case of Binyam
Mohamed.
My colleagues and I decided to invite you to
give oral evidence to the Committee on this matter, and on a number
of other topics on which the Committee has received evidence from
the FCO, and which relate, like the Binyam Mohamed case, to the
responsibilities of the FCO for securing the human rights of British
citizens and others overseas.
The specific topics are as follows:
— The case of Binyam Mohamed.
— Allegations of UK complicity in torture
in Pakistan.
— Transfer of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan.
— Allegations of abuse at the British Embassy
in Iraq.
— The oversight of overseas contractors
employed by UK Posts.
We would envisage dealing with these matters
in a single evidence session. This would form part of the Committee's
annual Human Rights inquiry, but would be separate from and in
addition to our usual session with the Minister of State to discuss
the human rights records of other governments.
I would be grateful if you could confirm that
you are willing to accede to this proposal. If so, our two offices
will liaise to arrange a suitable date.
I am copying this letter to Andrew Dismore as
Chairman of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and James Arbuthnot
as Chairman of the Defence Committee.
I look forward to your response.
Rt Hon David Miliband MP
13 February 2009
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