From:
To:
Sir Robin Butler
Niall Andrews MEP Esq
European Parliament
97-113 rue Belliard
B 1040 Brussels
-
Belgium
Thank you for your letter of 21 June about alleged corruption in the
Lorrain Osman case.
An apparent allegation of corruption in the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office was received in March. It was fully investigated and refuted
by the responsible Deputy Under Secretary, Sir John Coles, in consultation with me. The author of the original allegation then
wrote again to say that he did not in fact accuse the Department or
any individual of corruption. He made a number of other allegations about the case; as Sir John Coles said in his reply, the correct
place to air such matters is the courts. As you may know, Mr Osman's fifth application for a writ of habeus corpus was rejected by the Divisional Court on 22 May, although he may appeal
to the House of Lords by petition. Mr Osman has also made two
applications to the European Commission of Human Rights. The first was rejected in March 1989; the second in January 1991.
Her Majesty's Government are keen that this case should be brought
to a conclusion as soon as possible and Mr Osman's detention in the
UK ended. The fact that he has been held in custody for so long is
due entirely to the very extensive use of the appeals procedure he
has made. Mr Osman's solicitors have made representations on his
behalf to the Home Secretary, who will reach a decision as soon as
all the appeals proceedings have been completed.
MALADF