If Britain is to be regarded as a civilised country, then torture has no place in the measures it takes to protect itself

The learning of this lesson is long overdue

The fallout from the “war on terror” is a process seemingly without end, and not the least of its consequences is what it appears to have done for civilised standards on the part of the UK authorities. Torture, extra-judicial killing, the maltreatment of prisoners of war: all are casting their shadow once more.

Never mind that British soldiers are routinely described as the “best in the world”, or that, almost without exception, they have performed a near-impossible task in Iraq and Afghanistan with great bravery, professionalism and integrity. Those exceptions matter. It only takes one departure from the norms that any humane society would expect, and that society both damages itself and puts itself at greater risk from those who oppose it.

In this context, the name Baha Mousa will always resonate. Mousa was the 26-year-old Iraqi hotel receptionist who died while in British military custody in Basra in 2003, tortured to death in a case which, as a public inquiry finally reported in 2011, showed elements of the Army in an appalling light. It is the Mousa case which gave rise to what is – so far – the only instance of a British soldier being jailed for war crimes.

Was Mousa just one of many such deaths? Last week it was announced that the International Criminal Court in The Hague would conduct a preliminary examination into some 60 alleged cases of unlawful killing, as well as claims that more than 170 Iraqis were mistreated while in British military custody during the conflict.

Whatever the prospect of any of those cases becoming the subject of formal charges, those are disturbing figures. And in an interview in yesterday’s Independent, the human rights lawyer who has been instrumental in bringing these cases to the ICC’s attention talked of the need for the examination to “take in those at the very top as well as the interrogators below”. Phil Shiner said he believed that there were “at least 11 other Baha Mousas, 11 other deaths in custody”.

Today we report on a case in which MI5 faces claims of complicity in torture after a British resident told how he was imprisoned and beaten by Egyptian security forces working closely with the UK. Ahmed Diini alleges that he was questioned by a member of MI5 this year while being tortured in an Egyptian prison. The claim challenges assurances given by Britain’s security and intelligence agencies as recently as last year that they no longer take part in operations where a suspect is being tortured or illegally detained by a foreign state.

The “security” agenda remains very high on the list of government priorities, and a significant number of UK citizens – 29 per cent, according to an Amnesty International survey published last week – believe that torture can be justified. TV dramas such as 24, Amnesty contended, contributed to people’s thinking.

Of course the Government’s first duty is to protect its citizens, but the message that torture will not help achieve that aim is clearly not getting through – any perceived small gains being more than offset by the creation of new enemies. The learning of this lesson is long overdue. And until it is learnt, Britain will be in no position to move on from one of the most troubling episodes in its history.