CIA chief challenges torture report

CIA director John Brennan has struck back at a US Senate report that accused the agency of torturing terror detainees, acknowledging that “abhorrent” tactics were used but defending the overall interrogation programme for saving lives after the September 11 2001 attacks.

Mr Brennan conceded that it was “unknown and unknowable” whether the harsh treatment during George W Bush’s presidency yielded crucial intelligence that could have been gained in any other way.