HL Deb 05 July 2004 vol 663 c65WA
Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the statement by the Lord Bach on 12 May (HL Deb, col. 377) that hooding has not been used in interrogation in Iraq, whether that statement is compatible with the report of the International Committee of the Red Cross of February 2004, and with the explanation of the hooding practice given by the Secretary of State for Transport on 14 May. [HL2870]

Lord Bach:

The Secretary of State for Transport was correct in saying that direction had been given in September 2003 that United Kingdom forces should cease hooding prisoners, despite this being legitimate in certain specific operational circumstances. The International Committee of the Red Cross report of February 2004 did not allege that UK interrogators had hooded prisoners during interrogations. My statement on 12 May was and remains correct. We are not aware of any incidents in which UK interrogators are alleged to have used hooding as an interrogation technique.