Somewhere in London there is a bomb which will detonate in two hours. You have the terrorist suspect in custody but he refuses to divulge information which could save hundreds if not thousands of innocent lives. Negotiation is not working and time is of the essence. What do you do? Clive Stafford-Smith, the Founder and Director of Reprieve, posed this hypothetical dilemma to open his discussion with TheStoneClub at One Alfred Place on Monday 8th November. When pushed, more honest members of the audience admitted that in the absence of any viable alternative, they would countenance torturing the suspect, if it meant, for example, saving the life of a loved one.

However, in a self-described ‘rant’, Clive told us why he believes torture is never acceptable. Discussing his work as one of the world’s foremost human rights lawyers, we heard about Clive’s visits to Guantanamo Bay and his work there defending those accused of terrorist offences. In his experience torture does not just not work; it also vindicates alternative forms of justice and depreciates the rule of law. Its use in places such as Abu Ghraib has led to anger and resentment, ultimately making the world a much more dangerous place. Whilst not all of the audience were convinced by Clive’s analogy between the ‘War on Terror’ and the ‘War on Drugs’, in confrontational courtroom-mode he was more than happy to take on any challenges from the floor. It was a discussion as lively as it was relevant – the very next morning George Bush defended water-boarding as having saved British lives. You can read Clive’s response, a précis of what he discussed with us, here.