Senior cabinet ministers in the UK are “hiding behind a wall of secrecy” to avoid being held to account over allegations of British intelligence agents' collusion in torture, a group of MPs and peers has claimed.

A report from the parliamentary human rights committee, published today, says the refusal of David Miliband, foreign secretary, and Jacqui Smith, former home secretary, to give evidence showed that government accountability over the actions of MI5 and MI6 was “woefully deficient”.

British intelligence officials have been accused of interviewing UK nationals either during or after periods of detention in Pakistan when it is alleged the detainees were tortured or mistreated. The officials have not been accused of direct involvement in mistreating the men, some of whom were convicted terrorists and others terror suspects.