Blair's wife says info extracted through torture should be acted on

Associated Press | March 2 2006

International treaties ban the use of torture without exception, but governments may sometimes have to act on intelligence that may have come from such abuse, Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife Cherie Booth said Wednesday.

"In the real world, where terrorism exists, there are few absolutes," said Booth, a human rights lawyer, speaking at the London think tank Chatham House.

She said there should be "no exception" to the prohibition on torture and argued that evidence obtained through torture should be inadmissible in court, but agreed with a ruling by the House of Lords that governments might sometimes have to act on it.

Booth called for debate on the tension between fighting terrorism and protecting human rights, arguing that both sides needed to keep an open mind.

She said critics of the war on terror needed to recognize "the good faith of those who are focused on preserving the fundamental right to life," while calling on the government to "accept a culture of justification, which allows for an informed debate to take place."

Her comments come at a sensitive time for her husband, who is under increasing pressure on human rights and civil liberties issues.

An Amnesty International report last week accused the British government of turning a blind eye to "extraordinary rendition," the alleged illegal transfer of terror suspects to countries where they may be tortured, and criticized Blair for failing to take a stronger stance on the U.S. naval prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Blair says he accepts U.S. assurances that the United States complies with the 1994 U.N. Convention Against Torture and will not transport anyone to a country when officials believe the suspect could be tortured.

Last modified March 2, 2006