European governments, including Britain's, were under growing pressure last night to reveal the extent of their involvement in controversial US "extraordinary renditions". Colin Powell, the former US Secretary of State, said that statements of ignorance by European leaders such Jack Straw about the transport, detention and torture of suspects were not believable. "There's a little bit of the movie Casablanca in this, where, you know, the inspector says, 'I'm shocked, shocked that this kind of thing [gambling] takes place'," he said in the interview with Sir David Frost. Speaking on the BBC's World TV channel yesterday, Mr Powell criticised the US's European allies for feigning ignorance of rendition, and dismissed suggestions that governments were surprised that their airports may have been involved in rendition. "Most of our European friends cannot be shocked that this kind of thing takes place. The fact is that we have, over the years, had procedures in place that would deal with people who are responsible for terrorist activities, or suspected terrorist activities, and so the thing that is called rendition is not something that is new or unknown to my European friends."
Colin Powell, the former US Secretary of State, said that statements of ignorance by European leaders such Jack Straw about the transport, detention and torture of suspects were not believable.
"There's a little bit of the movie Casablanca in this, where, you know, the inspector says, 'I'm shocked, shocked that this kind of thing [gambling] takes place'," he said in the interview with Sir David Frost.
Speaking on the BBC's World TV channel yesterday, Mr Powell criticised the US's European allies for feigning ignorance of rendition, and dismissed suggestions that governments were surprised that their airports may have been involved in rendition.
"Most of our European friends cannot be shocked that this kind of thing takes place. The fact is that we have, over the years, had procedures in place that would deal with people who are responsible for terrorist activities, or suspected terrorist activities, and so the thing that is called rendition is not something that is new or unknown to my European friends."
