British deny George Bush's claims that torture helped foil terror plots

British officials say there is no evidence that waterboarding saved lives of UK citizens, as Bush claimed in his memoirs

George Bush at a booksigning in Dallas, Texas. The British have contradicted the former US president's claims about torture helping to save lives in the UK.

British officials said today there was no evidence to support claims by George Bush, the former US president, that information extracted by "waterboarding" saved British lives by foiling attacks on Heathrow airport and Canary Wharf. In his memoirs, Bush said the practice – condemned by Downing Street as torture – was used in CIA interrogations of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks on the US.

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