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Call for clampdown on CIA

Nicholas Watt and Suzanne Goldenberg

Swiss Senator claims 14 countries colluded with U.S.

Brussels/Washington: The head of Europe's human rights watchdog on Thursday called for monitoring of CIA agents operating in Britain and other European countries, after U.S. President George W. Bush's admission that the U.S. had detained terrorist suspects in secret prisons. Terry Davis, secretary general of the Council of Europe, said CIA agents should be subject to the same rules as British agents working for the British intelligence services.

``There is a need to deal with the conduct of allied foreign security services agents active on the territory of a council member state,'' Mr. Davis said. ``In the U.K. there is parliamentary scrutiny of the intelligence services but there is no parliamentary scrutiny of friendly foreign services. The U.K. should be in the lead on this issue.''

As part of this process, diplomatic immunity should be reviewed. ``Immunity should not mean impunity,'' he said.

Scathing attack

Mr. Davis also called for a ban on the transport of suspects in military aircraft. At the moment the prohibition applies only to civil aircraft.

The former British Labour MP was scathing about Mr. Bush. ``Why does the U.S. need to keep people in secret prisons? I thought that was settled by Magna Carta. But King John is alive and well and running the USA. There is a smoking gun. We know where it is — it is in the hands of George Bush. His fingerprints are on the gun.''

Mr. Davis's remarks came as the man leading the Council of Europe's investigation into the secret CIA prisons dismissed Mr. Bush's admission as ``just one piece of the truth''. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

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