Craig Murray on Torture Allegations

Click the above link to get it from the horse's mouth.
Here is the essence:

Constituent in election hustings, Blackburn, April 2005:
"This question is for Mr Straw; Have you ever read any documents where the intelligence has been procured through torturous means?"

Jack Straw: "Not to the best of my knowledge... let me make this clear... the British government does not support torture in any circumstances. Full stop. We do not support the obtaining of intelligence by torture, or its use."

Craig Murray, ex-ambassador to Uzbekistan, in a memo to the Foreign Office, July 2004:
I was summoned to the UK for a meeting on 8 March 2003. Michael Wood (a Government official) gave his legal opinion that it was not illegal to obtain and to use intelligence acquired by torture... On behalf of the intelligence services, Matthew Kydd said that they found some of the material very useful indeed with a direct bearing on the war on terror. Linda Duffield said that she had been asked to assure me that my qualms of conscience were respected and understood. - Ambassador Craig Murray, memo to the Foreign Office,