EU Inquiry May Call Cheney

Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, the most hawkish members of the US administration, may be invited to appear before a European parliamentary committee investigating allegations of "extraordinary rendition" of terrorist suspects by the CIA.

Sarah Ludford, a London Liberal Democrat MEP and vice-president of the committee, said she saw no reason not to invite the US vice-president and the defence secretary. "I'm sure they would be very welcome and they would be heard with great interest - or Condoleezza Rice [the US secretary of state] perhaps?"

Lady Ludford admitted that the parliament had no powers to summon members of the US administration: "Our only power is political embarrassment with governments that are reluctant to cooperate."

The investigation is the second European inquiry into allegations that CIA agents picked up terrorist suspects in Europe and flew them to secret detention centres on the continent and elsewhere. Dick Marty, a Swiss senator leading an inquiry by the Council of Europe, is expected to be one of the first witnesses to be asked to appear before the MEPs.

Carlos Coelho, a centre-right Portuguese MEP who will chair the committee, said he wanted answers to four questions: Had there been such flights and torture? Had EU citizens been abducted? Had EU governments been complicit? Had European or national laws been broken?

He said: "We will be looking at these events which ostensibly were conducted by the CIA or other secret police forces on our territory. There may be citizens who may have been victims. This is a very sensitive issue."