Two Al-Qaeda terrorists, one of whom plotted to kill thousands of people in a bomb attack on a British shopping centre, have launched an attempt to have their convictions quashed on human rights grounds.
The new development raises further questions about the influence of Strasbourg over British sovereignty
The pair have applied to the European Court of Human Rights after claiming MI5 was complicit in their torture by Pakistani security services, a claim that has already been rejected by British courts.
Officials at the European Court have allowed their application to go ahead rather than declaring it inadmissible, as they do with thousands of cases a year.
The Government must now respond to the claims, and if its explanation does not satisfy the court it will order a full hearing which, if successful, would almost certainly lead to the British courts being forced to quash the convictions.
The new development raises further questions about the influence of Strasbourg over British sovereignty, and the way human rights legislation is being exploited by defence lawyers.
The unique case means European judges will have to decide on a point of fact — whether the pair were tortured with the complicity of British security forces — rather than on a point of procedure, which is what the Strasbourg court has been concerned with until now.
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