U.S. Ambassador in London Creates Diplomatic Incident, Misleading Statements Charged

The Independent Online today reported that the US ambassador in London has been forced into an embarrassing retreat after his embassy clarified comments he made denying that the United States was involved in removing terrorist suspects to Syria.

Robert Tuttle,pictured above right, told Radio 4's Today programme last Thursday that there was no evidence that US forces had sent suspected terrorists for questioning in Syria, a practice known as "extraordinary rendition".

The US embassy issued a statement yesterday acknowledging that there had been claims that a suspect arrested in New York had been sent by the CIA for torture in Syria.

It is the second time in recent weeks that Mr Tuttle has had to correct misleading statements about the actions of US forces, and provoked a fresh outcry from Labour MPs over the practice of extraordinary rendition.

Andrew Mackinlay, a senior Labour member of the foreign affairs committee investigating the use of UK airports for rendition by the CIA, said: "It is troubling that they are contradicting their own assurances. We have no confidence in the denials that they have issued. Increasingly, a number of us ... don't believe what the US administration states any more. Nobody believes that this is not going on."

Robert "Bob" Holmes Tuttle, Republican fundraiser and Beverly Hills car-dealer, was sworn in as Ambassador to the Court of St James on 14 July, 2005.

The complete story may be found here:
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article335226.ece