British torture politician David Miliband now ‘humanitarian’?

In the royal dictatorship of Bahrain, there is a prince, best known for torturing athletes. That prince recently tried to “refugee-wash” his bloody image by posing as someone who cares about the plight of Syrian refugees.

This prince, His Royal Highness Shaikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, is not the only bigwig in the world trying to clean up his unappetizing image like this.

This video says about itself:

Sep 24, 2010

Documents recently brought to light in the UK show MI6 sought government approval to detain and question terror suspects in countries renowned for their poor human rights records. The decision was enforced by David Miliband who, at that time, served as the U.K.’s foreign secretary. It’s a move critics have likened to sanctioning torture, something Miliband denies.

Tim Cook-Hurle, who works for a charity group, Reprieve, which specializes in torture investigations, gave an interview on the subject to RT. The activist said that the case was still under investigation, but it is possible that the authorities and, in particular, David Miliband, failed to do all they could to prevent the secret services from applying torture techniques to those suspected of terrorism. Furthermore, Mr. Cook-Hurle added that even in case David Miliband is proven not guilty of sanctioning torture, then the process of decision making must be questioned as it is very likely that the reports about torture are true.

By Paddy McGuffin in Britain:

Celebrating Easter, Miliband-style

Friday 29 March 2013

Millions of devotees around the world will come together to commemorate the day that Jesus hatched from an egg. Something like that anyway…

Sugar-crazed kiddies will be bouncing off the walls gorging themselves on cocoa-based confectionary until they vomit, which may not be entirely in keeping with the spirit in which the day was initially intended to be celebrated.

Someone who can’t be accused of not taking the message seriously is David Miliband.

Easter, we are told, is about self-sacrifice, redemption and new beginnings.

Well, one out of three isn’t bad I suppose.

Miliband has left to head up the amusingly monickered US charity the International Rescue Committee.

This video is called [Gerry Anderson‘s] Thunderbirds Are GO part 1.

International Rescue, readers of a certain vintage will no doubt recall, was the official name of Gerry Anderson’s Thunderbirds.

Famously wooden, highly strung, with awkward movements and odd transatlantic accents, the Milibands have always been at the weirder end of the British political spectrum.

His departure sees yet another new Labour rat fleeing the sinking ship of the Blair project – and good riddance is all this column can say.

Miliband, most commonly remembered for having been usurped by his little brother for the party leadership in true Old Testament style, took the same route as his mentor the blessed Tony.

Both took thousands in payments for non-executive directorships, after-dinner speeches, lectures and unspecified services to regimes with dubious human rights records before quitting and then going on to head a charitable organisation.

A brief perusal of the most recent register of MPs’ interests shows that Miliband was paid £25,000 quarterly by Sunderland FC for a grand total of 15 days’ work.

He also got £23,210 in quarterly payments for a Herculean four days’ work with the Vantagepoint Cleantech Advisory Council and received a one-off payment of £64,475 from those fine upstanding people at the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

All this was of course on top of his MP’s salary of £68k plus expenses.

Miliband minor, paying tribute to his brother this week, claimed that British politics would be a “poorer place” without him. By this column’s calculations we’re about 80 grand a year better off.

Blair of course went on to establish the typically self-effacingly entitled Tony Blair Faith Foundation, apparently in a bid to unite the world in loathing of him.

The only real surprise in either case was that their exits were of their own volition and not in handcuffs.

The sheer hypocrisy of Miliband, who was up to his neck in two imperialist bloody wars and who was directly responsible for attempting to cover up Britain’s roles in torture and rendition, being appointed as president of a charity which boasts as its mission statement that it “responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives” beggars belief.

It is informative to note that Miliband’s last significant contribution to British politics was, along with another former foreign secretary Jack Straw, to vote against his own party’s proposed amendments to the Justice and Security Bill.

Now, why might two men who both face potential charges over their role in rendition and torture have been supportive of a Bill which would allow all evidence of rendition and torture to be buried…?

Those of a cynical nature might also question whether the decision to move to New York at this particular juncture might have something to do with the fact that the US has refused to sign up to the International Criminal Court.

Miliband said he was quitting as he did not wish to be a “distraction.”

Yes, you can see how having your older brother hauled up on war crimes charges could be somewhat distracting.

U.S. Engaged in Torture After 9/11, Review Concludes: here.

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• David Miliband a colossus? He’s a greedy failure in a cosmic sulk (telegraph.co.uk)

British politician David Miliband and torture

This video is called MI5 & the Torture & Rendition of British Guantanamo Detainee.

By Paddy McGuffin in Britain:

Abuse allegations back to haunt Miliband

Wednesday 22 September 2010

Former foreign secretary David Miliband was accused last night of “dodging the question” of his complicity in torture.

Legal charity Reprieve made the comments following allegations in the Guardian newspaper that Mr Miliband sanctioned intelligence-gathering operations by MI6 in countries where there was a risk suspects would be tortured.

As foreign secretary Mr Miliband was always consulted by MI6 before the secret service unit began any “particularly difficult” attempts to obtain information from a detainee held in countries which routinely used torture, the paper claims.

A number of British residents have alleged that they were tortured and abused by foreign states with the complicity of either MI6, MI5 or both.

While MI5 falls under the remit of the Home Office, MI6 is in the purview of the Foreign Office.

The former foreign secretary has denied any knowledge of, or involvement in, British complicity in torture.

Last year Mr Miliband lost a bitterly contested legal case in which he had attempted to prevent publication of part of a court judgement showing that MI5 was aware that British resident Binyam Mohamed was being tortured in Pakistan yet still interrogated him.

At least three British nationals have alleged they were tortured in foreign countries with the collusion of British security services during Mr Miliband’s time as foreign secretary.

Two men were detained in Bangladesh and a third man Azhar Khan claims he suffered torture and abuse in Egypt in July 2008. It is alleged he was hooded, beaten and subjected to electric shocks.

During his five-day ordeal he was repeatedly asked questions about his friends and associates in Britain.

Mr Miliband has stated that FCO files show no evidence of ministers being asked to sanction the three men’s detention.

His spokeswoman said: “David would never ever sanction torture and it is completely wrong to suggest, imply or leave a shadow of doubt otherwise.”

But campaigners said further questions needed to be answered.

Reprieve investigator Clara Gutteridge said: “While David Miliband was foreign secretary, the intelligence services were routinely involved in intelligence-gathering operations involving the abuse of prisoners such as Azhar Khan and others.

“Whether or not the British were technically the detaining power is not relevant and Mr Miliband has yet again dodged the question of his own complicity in torture.

“This is a textbook example of how the British government has repeatedly gone wrong on torture and where it will continue to go wrong until ministers gather the courage to address the problem instead of covering it up.”

Amnesty International UK director Kate Allen said: “Allegations that David Miliband personally authorised interrogations of detainees in countries with poor human rights records show that these decisions went right to the top of government.

“Mr Miliband’s statement is carefully worded and he is clear that he didn’t authorise detention or torture in three specific cases. But the question remains whether he gave his OK to receipt of information or MI6 interrogations in other cases when the Foreign Office would have good reason to believe – or even knew – that detainees had been tortured.”

Britain: The Equalities and Human Rights Commission threatened legal action against the government today over new guidance on torture which it labelled “illegal”: here.

Lawyers for 34 Iraqis allegedly hooded by the British army have launched a judicial review over the government’s new interrogation guidelines, which allow the banned practice to continue: here.

David Frakt Explains Why Guantanamo Prisoners Have Habeas Corpus Rights – Because innocent men would be held forever: here.

Bureau Recommends: David Miliband uses loophole to avoid paying tax on his income: here.