British, U.S. intelligence ties loosen after court ruling

LONDON — Intelligence ties between London and Washington have been jeopardized by a British court's disclosure that a terrorism suspect was beaten and shackled in U.S. custody, diplomats and security officials said Wednesday.

Fears in the United States that Britain can no longer be trusted with secrets is prompting an urgent assessment of relations between the allies and — according to some sources — has already slowed the flow of sensitive information from the U.S.

Britain's Court of Appeal on Wednesday authorized the release of a previously secret summary of CIA documents detailing the treatment of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed. Mohamed was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 and, according to the British court, subjected to "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by the United States authorities."

Foreign Secretary David Miliband fought for two years to block publication of the seven-paragraph summary, insisting that would violate a long-standing rule that nations don't disclose intelligence shared by their allies.

The White House said Wednesday the British court's judgment "will complicate the confidentiality of our intelligence-sharing relationship."

Experts warn the ruling could hurt Britain's ability to defend itself against terrorism, and represents the most serious challenge to intelligence cooperation since double agents during the Cold War.

The court's ruling has also raised new questions about whether British spies were complicit in torture.

In a rare public statement — his first since October — MI5 director Jonathan Evans used an opinion article in the Daily Telegraph newspaper to stress the importance of British intelligence ties to Washington, insisting the relationship has saved lives in the U.K.

"We cannot protect the U.K. without the help and cooperation of other countries. The U.S., in particular, has been generous in sharing intelligence with us on terrorist threats; that has saved British lives and must be protected," Evans wrote, in Friday's edition. "We must hope, for our own safety and security, that this does not make them less ready to share intelligence with us in the future."

The released document is a judge's summary of 42 classified documents shared by the CIA with MI5 — Britain's domestic spy agency — during Mohamed's questioning in Pakistan in May 2002. Evans acknowledged it described "unacceptable actions," but rejected claims his agency had been complicit in the detainee's alleged torture.