of persecution should they be returned to Egypt.210 The men were suspected of membership in al-Jihad al-Islamiya and involvement in terrorism-related activities. Most alarming was the repeated insistence of Prime Minister Tony Blair that diplomatic assurances against the torture of Mr. Youssef that might be sought from Egypt should be taken at face value based simply on Egypt’s accession to the Convention against Torture and the fact that torture was prohibited under Egyptian law. Blair advocated that an entire package of assurances be narrowed down to one—a simple promise by the Egyptians not to torture the men upon return.211 Prime Minister Blair’s eagerness to accept such guarantees—which, in the end, the Egyptian authorities refused to offer—was remarkable not only because of Egypt’s proven record of systematic torture, but also because legal advisors in the Home Office (Interior Ministry) and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) repeatedly advised the Prime Minister that seeking and accepting such guarantees would clearly violate the U.K.’s obligations under article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In a February 1999 memo, the Home Office warned that “there are a number of factors which suggest that assurances [from Cairo] would do little or nothing to diminish the Article 3 risk:” The main problem is that the Egyptian authorities’ record in the treatment of political opponents is, by any standards not good…In particular as you will see, abuse and torture are widespread despite the prohibition by the constitution of infliction of physical harm upon those arrested or detained. My first question therefore is whether in the face of this evidence, the Home Secretary might reasonably conclude that assurances from the Egyptians could be sufficiently authoritative and credible to diminish the Article 3 risk sufficiently to make removal to Egypt a realistic option.212 Despite this early and correct assessment (and continuing reservations by the Home Office about the dubious legality of deporting the men), the Prime Minister personally intervened on numerous occasions throughout 1999 (for example, in April, May and June) in an attempt to have the Home Office secure assurances from the Egyptian 210 Ibid., para. 8: The men “submitted plausible claims of harassment and torture at the hands of the Egyptian authorities. In refusing their applications we acknowledge that theirs were cases where the Secretary of State might ordinarily have granted asylum.” [emphasis in original High Court decision] 211 Ibid., para. 38: “The Prime Minister’s view is that we should now revert to the Egyptians to seek just one assurance, namely that the four individuals, if deported to Egypt, would not be subjected to torture. Given that torture is banned under Egyptian law, it should not be difficult for the Egyptians to give such an undertaking.” 212 Ibid., para. 8. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH VOL. 17 NO. 4(D) 70