Cruel Britannia: A Secret History of Torture

From the Second World War to the War on Terror, via Kenya and Northern Ireland award-winning investigative journalist Ian Cobain's new book Cruel Britannia explores Britain's role in the development and use of torture. Drawing on previously unseen official documents, and the accounts of witnesses, victims and experts Cobain reveals some stark truths.

With the High Court judgement that a group of Kenyans can claim damages from British government for abuses suffered during the Mau Mau rebellion, and on-going enquiries into the abuse of terror suspects, we will be joined by Cobain and a panel of experts to discuss Britain's record on involvement in the use of torture. We will be asking whether it is to time to challenge the official line that the UK does not 'participate in, solicit, encourage or condone' torture.

Chaired by Humphrey Hawksley, leading BBC foreign correspondent, author and commentator on world affairs.

With:

Ian Cobain, an investigative journalist with the Guardian and author of Cruel Britannia: A Secret History of Torture. His inquiries into the UK's involvement with torture since 9/11 have won the Martha Gellhorn Prize and the Paul Foot Award for investigative journalism, and has been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. He has also won several Amnesty International Media awards and a Liberty award.

Clive Baldwin, the Senior Legal Advisor for the Legal and Policy office at Human Rights Watch, where he has been working on issues of international law since 2007. His areas of focus include the Middle East, north and west Africa and discrimination law.

Rt Hon David Davis MP, Member of Parliament for Haltemprice and Howden since 1997 and former Shadow Home Secretary. As a Minister in the last Conservative government he served in the Cabinet Office and the Foreign Office. In the latter, he was responsible for Security Policy and European Policy, overseeing the majority of the country's international negotiations.

Dr Ruth Blakeley, a senior lecturer in International Relations at the University of Kent. Her research focuses on state violence and terrorism, particularly by liberal democratic states. Her current project, funded by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council, focuses on analysing the global system of rendition and secret detention. She is the author of State Terrorism and Neoliberalism, and she has published widely on state violence and torture.

• Category

  News & Politics

[Nuron666]

Its important to remember that every empire has blood stained history.

The UK is not alone, you can look at the Islamic empires, Roman empires. They all have blood on their hands.

Also we need to remember that, without past empire building, Britain would not be a wealthy nation today. People in the UK now enjoy free school and healthcare as well as benefits.

The only mistake the UK has made as been its relaxed immigration policies and its human rights policies.

This may well be its downfall

[Scott Naughton]

Most would argue that torture and an abuse of Human Rights is inherent of the blood stained history that is that of the United Kingdom.

If you want to blame liberals for the despicable, grotesque legacy that is your nation, my guess is you're probably blaming the wrong ideology.

Blame the arrogance and self-serving imperialism of every single British government of the past 900 years. Liberal and Conservative.

[Nuron666]

Every country in the world has practiced some torture.

Torture can come in different forms.

Liberal human rights based society in the UK is making matters worse by placing far too much importance on human rights.

Thanks to these liberals, dangerous individuals from young and old with criminal records are being allowed to roam free in our towns and cities, and as a result of this people are getting attacked, killed, raped on a regular basis, making many of the cities in UK very dangerous