THE Scottish Government has been urged to act as Washington and Westminster officials block police from investigating US renditition flights stopping at Scottish airports.
The concerns were raised in a letter addressed to the First Minister by the cross-party group of MSPs led by Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie, who states that Washington and Westminster are "failing to provide Scottish Police with an unredacted copy of the US Senate's report into torture undertaken by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)".
The US government was known to have used "rendition" tactics during the so-called "war on terror", which involved the detention of suspected terrorists and removal to another country where they were allegedly tortured for information.
READ MORE: Jackie Baillie calls Scottish Government ‘arrogant’ and 'rotten'
It is alleged some Scottish airports were used as refuelling stops for these trips.
The letter, also signed by Green MSP John Finnie, Labour MSPs Ruth Maguire, Pauline McNeill and James Kelly, and Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur, has urged the First Minister to call on Westminster to ensure the report is made available to Police Scotland.
The group also raised concerns that evidence could be destroyed by the current US administration, following a report from the New York Times in 2017 that president Donald Trump could order the unedited report to be locked away in Senate vaults or destroyed.
The letter said: "We are concerned that an ongoing Police Scotland investigation into this matter has been blocked from seeing vital evidence it needs to get to the truth.
"Specifically, officials in Washington and Westminster have failed to provide Scottish Police with an unredacted copy of the US Senate's report into torture undertaken by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
"This report contains detailed information about the CIA's rendition network. We urge you to call on the Westminster Government to ensure this evidence is supplied."
Harvie said: "I remember calling for this probe into this use of Scottish airports 15 years ago, and Police Scotland have been investigating since 2013.
"It is disgraceful that officers are still waiting for evidence, and deeply concerning that responsibility for transparency now rests with the Trump administration.
"Without a concerted effort now by the Scottish and UK Governments, we might never get the truth.
"As the UK Government sidles up to Trump in the hope of a post-Brexit trade deal, it's vital the First Minister pushes them on rendition."
Chief Superintendent Faroque Hussain would not be drawn on the need for the force to get sight of the report, but he did confirm a report had been submitted to the Crown Office on the matter.
He said: "Specialist officers from Police Scotland's Organised Crime & Counter Terrorism Unit have gathered and analysed all the information made available to them and have submitted a report which is being considered by the Crown Office."
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf would "give careful consideration" to the demands from the MSPs, and said he was already seeking support from the UK Government in getting the unedited report.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel