The government supports the rule of law and opposes any form of deprivation of liberty that amounts to placing a detained person outside the protection of the law, including so-called extraordinary rendition. The government’s policy on rendition was set out by former Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeParliamentary Under Secretary of State Tobias Ellwood during an adjournment debate on the UK’s involvement in rendition in June 2016.

The UK remains fundamentally opposed to rendition and as such we do not use rendition-it is not part of our security apparatus and nor do we support, enable or endorse its use by other states. Since 2010, UK intelligence and security personnel have operated under the published Consolidated Guidance and, since January 2020, its replacement, The Principles. The Principles provide direction for UK personnel and governs their interaction with detainees held by others overseas and the handling of intelligence derived from them and is overseen by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner.

The Principles expressly reaffirm UK policy on rendition and extraordinary rendition. The UK government investigates allegations against UK personnel and bring complaints to the attention of detaining authorities in other countries, except where to do so might itself lead to unacceptable treatment. The UK does not approve nor permit the use of its territory or UK facilities by another state under any circumstances for the purposes of transfers or detention that are not in compliance with international law. Any request for the transit of foreign flights through the UK or overseas territories is considered on a case-by-case basis and are granted only when the purpose of the transit complies with international law. In the unlikely event that a foreign flight were to land or to pass through the UK airspace unexpectedly for the purposes of transferring a detainee, the government would consider the case on its merits and respond appropriately, in accordance with our policy and obligations under domestic and international law.

This position has been made absolutely clear, both publicly and bilaterally to our overseas partners. There were two previously declared incidents in 2002, where British Territory had been used for this purpose. The transition of two detainees through Diego Garcia was reported to Parliament by the then Foreign Secretary in February 2008. The UK has since made major improvements to our processes, including, where appropriate, seeking assurances from relevant states about the use of UK territory or airspace for the transfer of detainees. All incoming flight requests through the Diplomatic Flights Clearanceprocess and subsequent decisions are registered electronically on the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office’s(FCDO)records management system and are fully searchable by the FCDO.

More generally, all FCDO Departments and Posts are accountable for their record keeping through the Annual Consolidated Certificate of Assurance. This is scrutinised by the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee that reports to the FCDO Management Board. Since those events in 2002,the UK isnot aware of any other instances ofother countries holding or moving any detainees through the territorial land, air or seas of the UK or our overseas territories.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/995926/uk-response-issues-un.pdf