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Mr Belhaj is now head of the Tripoli Military Council in the new Libya
The UK government approved the 2004 rendition of a terror suspect to the Gaddafi regime, the BBC can reveal.
A letter from an MI6 officer refers to Abdel Hakim Belhaj's
rendition to Libya. It congratulates the Libyans on the "safe arrival"
of the "air cargo".
Mr Belhaj says he was tortured in jail. Successive UK governments have denied complicity in rendition or torture.
But the letter suggests M16 involvement - and the BBC understands authorisation was given by the Labour government.
The letter from the senior MI6 officer, Sir Mark Allen, to
Col Gaddafi's intelligence chief, Musa Kusa, was found last year in the
rubble of Musa Kusa's headquarters, which were bombed by Nato.
As well as congratulating the Libyans on the arrival of the "cargo", it points out that "the intelligence was British".
The letter was sent in 2004 when Mr Belhaj was the leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.
MI5 believed the group was close to al-Qaeda and involved in recruiting young Muslims in Britain to fight in Iraq.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
Peter Taylor BBC correspondentBritain regarded Belhaj as a terrorist who had met Osama Bin Laden during the Afghan jihad against the Russians in the late 1980s, and whose group MI5 believed was involved in recruiting young British Muslims”
BBC correspondent Peter Taylor
says it appears MI6 had discovered that Mr Belhaj was in Malaysia and
about to head for London in the hope of obtaining political asylum.
MI6 informed its foreign intelligence partners, and as a
result Mr Belhaj was intercepted in Bangkok, presumably by the CIA, and
rendered to Libya.
Our correspondent says the letter suggests MI6 was complicit
in Mr Belhaj's illegal rendition and alleged torture in Libya - but that
MI6 was not acting unilaterally.
He says his understanding is that MI6 obtained authorisation from the Labour government of the time for its action.
Legal action in UK
Mr Belhaj - now a senior military commander in the new Libya
that Britain helped create - is suing MI6 and the British government,
accusing them of complicity in his illegal rendition and alleged
torture.
He says he believes he was rendered from Bangkok to Libya by the CIA.
The Metropolitan Police is also investigating his allegations.
Mr Belhaj worked with Nato as one of the leaders of the forces that helped overthrow Col Muammar Gaddafi.
But he claims that during his more than four years in prison
he was interrogated by agents from countries including the UK and US.
He had been living in exile in Beijing after leading opposition to Col Gaddafi.
In 2010, Prime Minister David Cameron established a Detainee
Inquiry into "whether Britain was implicated in the improper treatment
of detainees, held by other countries, that may have occurred in the
aftermath of 9/11".
However, the inquiry was mothballed in January 2012 after the
Metropolitan Police announced it was investigating Mr Belhaj's claims.
Justice Secretary Ken Clarke said the government was committed to holding a judge-led inquiry once these were investigated.
Watch Modern Spies on BBC 2 at 21:00 BST on Monday 9 April for more on this story.
Source : BBC
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