In August 2002 Craig Murray set off to Uzbekistan as HM Ambassador. For those of us a bit vague about the aftermath of the USSR, it’s bordered by Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kirghizstan, Kazakhstan, and what’s left of the Aral Sea after the appalling ecological impact of its massive cotton industry. Alongside cotton it produces natural gas, vast amounts of minerals, and tobacco. It’s a country full of resounding place names, among them what were once called the Oxus and the Jaxartes rivers and the cities of Tashkent and Samarkand.

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Last Wednesday the Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith, gave a speech on “UK Terrorism Legislation in an International Context”. At the outset he said ‘You have asked me particularly to talk about the UK legislative response to the threat of terrorism and that is what I shall focus on.’

That hasn’t, however, been the headline-grabbing part of the speech. And I don’t believe for a moment that Goldsmith didn’t know perfectly well that the headline would actually be this bit buried in the middle: Read More