MILITARY and intelligence personnel in the UK were issued with new guidance yesterday on how to deal with the interrogation of suspects being held by foreign powers who may be subjected to torture.

The guidance, published by Prime Minister David Cameron, makes clear that the UK Government does not “participate in, solicit, encourage or condone” the use of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment for any purpose.

It orders personnel who feel there is a serious risk of mistreatment of detainees to consult senior colleagues – and ultimately ministers – before taking any part in interviews, feeding questions to foreign interrogators or soliciting the detention of suspects.

Intelligence officers and troops are warned: “Crown servants should be aware that they are subject to English criminal law in respect of their actions in the course of their duties overseas.”

But they are assured that, if they stick to the procedures set out in the guidance, they will have “good reason to be confident that they will not risk personal liability in the future”.

The new guidance was drawn up in the wake of a number of complaints from detainees held following the September 11 terror attacks on the US that they were arrested overseas on the basis of information supplied by MI5 or MI6, or that UK agents supplied their interrogators with questions or were even present while they were being mistreated.

The document states: “The United Kingdom Government’s policy . . . is clear – we do not participate in, solicit, encourage or condone the use of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (CIDT) for any purpose. In no circumstance will UK personnel ever take action amounting to torture or CIDT.

“We take allegations of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment very seriously.

“We investigate allegations against UK personnel; and we bring complaints to the attention of detaining authorities in other countries, except where we believe that to do so might itself lead to unacceptable treatment of the detainee.”

Any work with the agencies of countries suspected of mistreating detainees must be carried out in compliance with Britain’s domestic and international obligations, says the guidance.

“In circumstances where, despite efforts to mitigate the risk, a serious risk of torture at the hands of a third party remains, our presumption would be that we will not proceed.”

The guidance states that “all detainees who are held by UK armed forces must be treated humanely at all times, in accordance with international law and any UK law that may be applicable”.

The guidance tells intelligence officers and military personnel that, before interviewing or seeking intelligence from detainees in the custody of foreign forces, or soliciting the detention of a suspect, they must assess the likelihood of mistreatment.

Where they “know or believe” torture will take place, ministers must be informed and concerns raised with the detaining authorities to try to prevent it occurring.

If they suspect there is a “serious risk” of mistreatment, interviews should not proceed unless senior personnel and legal advisers judge that this is not the case or they are able to secure credible undertakings that the detainee will not be harmed.

If there remains concern about a serious risk of mistreatment, Government ministers should be informed of full details of the case, including the risks of inaction.

Ministers will also take responsibility for deciding whether to act upon intelligence which is “crucial to saving lives” but may have been obtained by torture or mistreatment, Mr Cameron told the Commons yesterday.

The guidance also warns of the danger that accepting unsolicited information from a foreign agency suspecting of mistreating detainees may encourage it to continue with such abuse.