Paying the price

Having inherited this case, and the appalling moral dilemmas that it poses, from Labour, the coalition has clearly decided to cut its losses by deciding that the payment of compensation, rather than allowing a costly court case to run its full course.

It is an understandable standpoint, given the continuing repercussions about the use of torture following the 9/11 atrocity and how the legacy of Guantanamo continues to haunt the UK and US administrations in the ongoing "war on terror".

That said, there will, nevertheless, be dismay that the Government has chosen to pre-empt both a court case, and a public inquiry, by paying out several millions of pounds at a time when Britain's national security is at risk from al-Qaida and its acolytes.

Many will be rightly fearful that this money will be channelled back to those plotting to commit mass murder on these shores. One can only hope, and pray, that this is not so.