“We wrote to the Secretary of State about the information we were given and he refused to confirm or deny it.”
Drone attacks have become a regular occurrence in some parts of Pakistan in recent times, as US President Barack Obama continues his fight against terrorism. However, the US’s active intolerance of attacks against the West and some parts of Asia has come at an ugly price.
Last month, Pakistani citizen Noor Khan lost his father to a military drone attack in his country.
Malik Daud was part of a council of elders holding a meeting in the tribal areas of North West Pakistan, when a drone missile hit the group, killing 40 of the attendees.
Soon after losing his father, Khan approached London-based solicitors firm Leigh Day and Co, who investigated the issue and found that the information shared by intelligence team GCHQ (which ultimately led to Daud’s death) was in fact illegal.
The firm say that the civilian intelligence officers who passed on intelligence to the US were not considered “lawful combatants” and therefore cannot claim immunity from criminal law.
But the GCHQ team are not the only ones in trouble. The firm are also looking to sue Foreign Secretary William Hague who, according to “unchallenged evidence”, oversaw a policy of passing British intelligence to US Forces.
One of the solicitors working on the case is Rosa Curling, who was approached by Khan a few months ago to help bring those responsible for his father’s demise to justice.
“He came to us a few months ago and we looked into the involvement of the UK in his father’s death.
“Unfortunately press reports showed that the UK was involved and they did provide information to the US as to where to target their drone attacks. We’re clear in our minds that this was unlawful and we felt that the law needed to intervene.”
Ms Curling also told us that although Khan is upset about losing his father, the innocent citizen doesn’t enjoy the privileges that seem so normal to us, as drone attacks are now an inherent part of his life.
“Of course, he is devastated by his father’s death,” she told us, “He has explained to us that he lives in fear.
“He hears these drones and he’s anxious that they will fall again. He has nothing to do with the War on Terror and his life is at threat. It is very difficult for him.”
Asked if Mr Hague will be prosecuted if sued, Ms Curling remains tight-lipped as she tells us that the decision lies with the Court.
“Our job was to investigate as to whether the Secretary of State was following certain policies.
“We are currently seeking permission to bring this case to Court and we will hopefully get a full hearing in the next couple of months when we gain this.”
But the evidence that Leigh Day and Co did not come out of the blue, and when Mr Hague was questioned about the accusation, he refused to comment, sparking suspicions of a red hand.
“We gained our evidence through a ‘whistle-blower’, and that is someone who provides information to newspapers,” Ms Curling told us.
“We wrote to the Secretary of State about the information we were given and he refused to confirm or deny it.”
