MI5 is facing claims that it colluded in the torture of an ex-civil servant suspected of terrorism.
Lawyers for Briton Jamil Rahman have written to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith claiming that she colluded in assault, unlawful arrest, false imprisonment and breaches of human rights legislation.
According to The Guardian newspaper, Mr Rahman says he was tortured over a two-year period in Bangladesh and two MI5 officers turned a blind eye to his treatment, leaving the room while he was severely beaten and return to resume their interrogation.
At one point he says his wife was held in the next room and Bangladeshi officers threatened to rape her.
