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MI5 accused of bribing militant

LONDON: Intelligence agency MI5 is being sued by a British extremist of Pakistani origin for allegedly offering him inducements to withdraw his allegation that it colluded in his torture by Pakistani security services three years ago.

Rangzieb Ahmed, who was jailed for life last December after being convicted of heading an Al-Qaeda cell and directing terrorism, has alleged that MI5 offered him a “deal” under which he could take money or opt for a reduced jail term if he withdrew his allegation.

The alleged offer, Ahmed claimed in a newspaper interview, was made by an MI5 agent and a police officer who visited him in jail.

“They said they wanted my advice about tackling extremism and then said they could offer me protection if I helped them. Then they said: ‘If you withdraw what you are saying about torture, we can make a deal with you to reduce your sentence, or if you want to take money we can give you money’,” Ahmed told The Guardian.

Ahmed (33), who was detained in Pakistan, said he was tortured by Pakistani security forces and had three of his fingernails ripped off while being asked questions that the claims were prepared by MI5.

Lord Malloch- Brown, the Foreign Office Minister for Africa, Asia and the U.N. and a personal friend of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, is to quit for “personal and family reasons”.

Lord Malloch-Brown was made Minister two years ago under the Prime Minister’s so-called “Goats” (Government of All the Talents) policy and there had been reports of tensions with his young boss, Foreign Secretary David Miliband. In his resignation letter, he made clear that his decision was “not a commentary on the political situation”, a reference to the current anti-Labour mood. He will quit at the end of July.

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