I have just received the following from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights:
2 April 2009
Session 2008-09 No. 31
PRESS NOTICE
Notice of Forthcoming Public Evidence Session
UN Convention Against Torture
The following oral evidence session has been arranged:
Tuesday 28 April 2009
1.45pm
Craig Murray (former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan)
The Committee will be following up its 2006 Report on the UK’s compliance with the UN Convention Against Torture by taking evidence from Craig Murray, former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, on allegations that UK ministers and officials knowingly received information obtained by torture. The Committee previously heard evidence from Ian Cobain of The Guardian and Brad Adams of Human Rights watch about allegations of abuse and mistreatment involving British agents in Pakistan. A transcript of this session and the Committee’s correspondence with ministers on this issue is available at:
http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/joint_committee_on_human_rights/tortureiniraq.cfm
The above meeting is open to members of the public. It is advisable to allow about 20 minutes to pass through security checks. There is no system for the prior reservation of seats in Committee Rooms. Members of the public enter via the Visitors Entrance, next to St Stephens Entrance, the Palace of Westminster.
The members of the Committee Are:
Mr Andrew Dismore MP (Labour, Hendon) (Chairman)
Lord Bowness (Conservative)
John Austin MP (Labour, Erith & Thamesmead)
Lord Dubs (Labour)
Dr Evan Harris MP (Liberal Democrat, Oxford West & Abingdon)
Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Liberal Democrat)
Mr Virendra Sharma MP (Labour, Ealing, Southall)
Lord Morris of Handsworth (Labour)
Mr Richard Shepherd MP (Conservative, Aldridge-Brownhills)
The Earl of Onslow (Conservative)
Mr Edward Timpson MP (Conservative, Crewe and Nantwich)
Baroness Prashar (Cross-Bencher)
Clerks of the Committee:
Dr Mark Egan (House of Commons) 020 7219 2797
and Rebecca Neal (House of Lords) 020 7219 6772
Enquiries: 020 7219 2797/2467 Fax: 020 7219 8393
E-mail: [email protected]
Homepage: http://www.parliament.uk/jchr
Media Inquiries: Ms Jessica Bridges-Palmer: 020 7219 0724
Game on!
That’s not a bad line up. I’m guessing Lord Morris of Handsworth is Bill Morris, former General Secretary of the Transport & General Workers Union, and Britain’s first ever black British union leader. Virendra Sharma walked out of a minor government post in January over the Heathrow third runway decision. Evan Harris is pretty honest. Lord Lester ha a good reputation, as does Alf Dubs.
If you can’t get a fair hearing out of that lot, then I truly give up.
Best of luck. Look out for Alistair Campbell’s mates, though!
Craig
Good stuff, they can’t wriggle out of this now without causing a real furore.
Strategist is probably right that they are as good a bunch as you’ll get but they’re still part of the system, not part of the solution…
And what’s the chance of the Government listening to what they say? Close to zero, I imagine. But you have to keep on, numquam illegitimati carborundum.
BST or GMT? You never know with those slippery bastards. I wonder if it will be on that “parliament” channel on my Freeview box that I’ve never yet found a reason to watch… I’ll set the timer anyway.
Ohh, I may try and coem along to cheer/boo as appropriate. Come on fellwo readers, lets try and show up to support Craig!
ora
Splendid… there it is in their website, in black and white. Didn’t think it would ever get put up, to be honest.
If anyone can record it and is techno-capable enough to convert it to a digital video file, popping it on YouTube or DailyMotion would be a nice idea. I would do it myself, but I tore up my TV license some while ago, and I’ve been fairly honest and not actually watched the damn thing since.
Best of luck Craig-and sincere thanks for your efforts in this arena over so many years!
I cant be there,regrettably, but i will follow with great interest.
I’ll be there
I’d love to be there and support you but I’ll have to settle for watching it on YouTube!
I don’t know if it will be filmed or not. I don’t think they all are.
Just watch out for dodgy-looking gents with umbrellas on the tube!
Off topic (sorry) but just been looking at the headlines on G20. ‘A trillion dollar deal’. Exclamation points!!!
I think we’re running short of prefixes for those ‘illion’s. We’ve heard ‘squillions’ and ‘gazillions’ – but can anyone suggest a new ‘illion’ that imaginatively captures the zeitgeist?
I’ll be there, and a lot earlier than the 20 minutes mentioned. And will also check the website in case it’s moved to Portcullis House on the other side of Bridge St.
Vronsky, another ‘…..illion’ needed?
Well, those young whippersnappers Larry Page and Sergey Brin got there years ago, must have seen this coming. A google (or more correctly a googol) is a 1 followed by 100 zeros. In ‘illions’ it can be 10 duotrigintillion, or ten thousand sedecillion. No doubt they chose that name for the company as it would describe their net worth in dollars at some time in the future, maybe pretty soon……
Don’t worry about my mental health for knowing that – I’m a retired engineer – but never needed a number that big.
Craig, your link doesn’t work – are we to assume that someone has deleted the page(s)?
Craig, your link doesn’t work – are we to assume that someone has deleted the page(s)?
OK – link works now.
The link to “UK Parliament – Allegations of Torture in Iraq” does work here now, Chuck.
You could try visiting it using the Mozilla Firefox browser.