Compensation claims lodged against the Government by six former Guantanamo Bay detainees are likely to cost the taxpayer more than £30 million in legal bills, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.
By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter
Published: 7:30AM GMT 01 Mar 2010
Binyam Mohamed, who is at the centre of a row over Britain’s alleged complicity in torture, and five other men are each suing MI5 and MI6, claiming the security services were complicit in their alleged torture in custody.
They could be awarded between £200,000 and £500,000 each if they win their cases, but spiralling legal bills will dwarf any damages awards, as the joint action by the men is currently expected to take seven years to work its way through the courts.
Sources close to the case have disclosed that 75 lawyers have been hired by the Government to sift through hundreds of thousands of classified documents relating to the detainees’ arrests and treatment.
It will take up to five years for the Government to prepare its defence, at a predicted cost of £20m, and because all six of the former detainees are being given legal aid to fight for compensation, their own lawyers’ fees and court costs are expected to add another £10m.
A source within Whitehall told The Daily Telegraph that £30m was “a conservative estimate” for the final cost of the case. ... (more in story)
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