PM and Foreign Secretary acknowledge UK’s damaged reputation on upholding torture ban

The Medical Foundation attended the final day of the Conservative Party Conference, on Wednesday, to hear Foreign Secretary William Hague and then Prime Minister David Cameron both reference the upcoming inquiry into allegations that the UK was complicit in torture.

In the Prime Minister’s address, David Cameron told the conference that Britain’s reputation in the world needed to be restored:

"It's about doing what is right. When this country has got it wrong, we'll admit it, as I did when I apologised for Bloody Sunday. When there's a cloud hanging over our reputation, we should address it, as we have done by setting up an inquiry into whether this country was complicit in the mistreatment of detainees."

Earlier, in his speech on foreign policy, William Hague told delegates:

"The last government left Britain open to accusations of complicity in torture. In our first weeks we decided to establish an inquiry and published the guidance we give to our intelligence personnel, for if we are to speak of our values to others we must show that we uphold them ourselves."

The MF has called on the coalition government to match such rhetoric with swift action. To best repair the UK’s damaged reputation, it should ensure that the forthcoming torture inquiry is independent and thorough so it is able to get to the truth of past abuses and hold those responsible for wrongdoing to account.

If the inquiry is held in secret and does not actively involve torture survivors in the process, the ‘cloud hanging over our reputation’ will remain and the message to the rest of the world will be that Britain condones the use of torture.