Conclusion: A Stark ChoiceAs a result of the combination of policies outlined above, the UK is in a weaker position than ever before to work on combating torture. It still claims strongly to support the ban on torture. And yet, at the same time, it acts in a way that clearly undermines that ban. The British government can no longer have it both ways. The UK is losing the credibility that it once enjoyed. The governments determination to bend the rules on its own account, and its refusal to confront abuses committed by its closest ally, is a moral and political abdication, in defiance of international law. The UK government, under Tony Blair and his as yet unnamed successor, now faces a stark choice: It can further develop policieslike memoranda of understanding, and its challenge in the Ramzy casethat deliberately and dangerously undermine the international ban on torture. Alternatively, the government can acknowledge that bending and seeking to trample the rules is not the way forward, in a time of real insecurity. Britain can once again play a role at the vanguard of combating torture, as it did in previous years. But to do so requires a fundamental change of direction and an end to recent policies that undermine torture. Failure to change direction will damage us all. Specifically, the UK government should undertake the following measures as a matter of urgent priority:
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