We believe future cases like those that might be taken by the survivors of a Porton Down style disaster, or injured soldiers challenging the Ministry of Defence, or anyone taking action against the Metropolitan Police could all see the defence of ‘national security’ used to prevent any embarrassing details coming to light.
The Government has also previously been involved in cases brought by people who alleged their involvement in torture and extraordinary rendition.
In December 2012, the Government settled the case of Mr Sami Al-Saadi, a Libyan dissident who claimed they had been involved in his family’s rendition from Hong Kong to Libya where he was subsequently tortured at the hands of Gaddafi’s regime. The Government settled out of court for £2.2million, meaning full details of their involvement will never be known. Mr Al-Saadi said he started the litigation to get the truth, but because of the secret courts bill he realised that he may never get transparent accountability and so decided it would not be best for his family to proceed.
In 2010, the case of Binyam Mohammed, an ex-Guantanamo detainee facing terrorism charges in the US, saw the UK Government fight hard in the courts to try and keep incriminating paragraphs about their knowledge of his torture a secret. The court overruled and the paragraphs were published showing the Government had been complicit in his torture while in US custody.