Former British ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray has released secret Foreign Office memos showing that Britain used intelligence obtained by torture with the knowledge of Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, a British daily revealed Saturday, December 31. The first document contains the text of several telegrams that Murray sent back to London from 2002 to 2004, warning that the information being passed on by the Uzbek security services was torture-tainted, and challenging MI6 claims that the information was nonetheless ”useful,” according to Murray`s Web site. ”The second document is the text of a legal opinion from the Foreign Office`s Michael Wood, arguing that the use by intelligence services of information extracted through torture does not constitute a violation of the UN Convention Against Torture,” it added. Straw had denied that the British government used information extracted under torture and duress. According to the ex-ambassador`s Web site, the British Foreign Office is now seeking to block publication of Murray`s forthcoming book, which documents his time as ambassador to Uzbekistan. ”The Foreign Office has demanded that Craig Murray remove all references to two especially damning British government documents, indicating that our government was knowingly receiving information extracted by the Uzbeks through torture, and return every copy that he has in his possession,” it added. Axed as envoy in 2004 after revealing torture carried out by Uzbek leader Islam Karimov, Murray said torture was something of a routine in Uzbekistan. ”When it comes to the Karimov regime, systematic torture and rape appear to be treated as peccadilloes,” he said. Murray further recalled: ”In March 2003 I was summoned back to London from Tashkent specifically for a meeting at which I was told to stop protesting. I was told specifically that it was perfectly legal for us to obtain and to use intelligence from the Uzbek torture chambers.” Although human rights groups have routinely charged Karimov`s government with using systematic torture in prisons and police stations, the US and the UK have been mild in its criticism as Uzbekistan houses one of the major American military bases in the region and is rich in natural resources chiefly natural gas and oil.