In 2005, 2006 and again in 2007, the British government said there was no evidence that any U.S. "special rendition" flights -- planes carrying terror suspects to interrogation in third countries where torture might be practiced -- had ever stopped on UK territory. Wrong, it turns out. Foreign Secretary David Miliband stood up in the House of Commons today and apologized, saying such flights had twice landed on Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean atoll that is British overseas territory. He said the earlier statements were made in good faith, based on assurances from the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush; Washington did not inform London of the flights until last week, Miliband said. He said he and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "both agree that the mistakes made in these two cases are not acceptable and she shares my deep regret that this information has only just come to light."

Now that it has come to light, Miliband felt compelled to renew assurances that the British were not colluding with the Americans in any extralegal treatment of suspects in terror cases. "These were rendition operations, nothing more," he said. "There has been speculation in the press over the years that CIA had a holding facility on Diego Garcia. That is false. There have also been allegations that we transport detainees for the purpose of torture. That, too, is false. Torture is against our laws and our values. And, given our mission, CIA could have no interest in a process destined to produce bad intelligence." Despite Miliband's protestations, Diego Garcia's bit part in America's war on terror will breathe new life into long-held criticism in Britain that the British government, especially under Tony Blair, who left office last summer, has been "poodle-like" in its obedience to its masters in Washington.