The proposition argue that this man hates everything that Britain stands for and thus deserves none of her protection, but what are those values that we stand for. Is it the belief that human rights are universal and unconditional? Is it the belief that a justice system should operate independant of political considerations to arrive at what is just and what is fair? Is it the belief that torture is wrong? Is it the belief that a democratic system of government is right?

These are our values that we believe do apply to all people but also should apply to all people. That is why one of the cornerstones of British foreign policy for many years has been the promotion and protection of Human Rights. To allow people to be deported to countries that practice torture has a two fold effect. Firstly, through our complicity in facilitating torture it lends legitimacy to these legal systems that embrace these practices. Moreover, it undermines the integrity of our justice system which is first and foremost founded on the principal of Habeas Corpus. Secondly, it undermines the moral authority that we use to negotiate with these countries in an effort to persuade them to abandon these practices. Why should a country abandon torture when we hypocritically condemn with one hand, while facilitating with the other?

Why is it our responsibility? As a society we have collectively determined that there are some actions that lie beyond the pale, that are wrong and will always be wrong. Torture is but one of these, and the mere fact that we ourselves are not carrying out the torture does not change our belief that it is wrong regardless of the individual concerned. Should these people seek the destruction of the State, you do not validate their actions through the infliction of pain but by rising above them. When you decide that anything and everything is necessary in order to combat an evil, then you become indistinguishable from that which you set out to destroy.