Payments to former detainees at Guantanamo Bay do not represent "admissions of culpability" and the amounts paid will remain secret, Justice Secretary Ken Clarke has told MPs.
Former detainees and the government were bound by confidentiality agreements about the payments, which have been reported to run into millions of pounds.
Making a Commons statement on 16 November 2010, Mr Clarke said: "The government has now agreed a mediated settlement of the civil damages claims brought by detainees held at Guantanamo Bay.
"The details of that settlement have been made subject to a legally-binding confidentiality agreement."
He added: "No admissions of culpability have been made in settling these cases nor have any of the claimants withdrawn their allegations."
Settling the High Court actions will pave the way for a judge-led inquiry into allegations that British security and intelligence services were complicit in torture.
Shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan asked for details of the cost of the payments, claiming there was a "public interest in knowing the total sums involved in this settlement".
But Mr Clarke told him the settlement "could be reopened if either side started breaking the confidentiality" but said there was a "gain" from mediating the claims instead of mounting a lengthy court battle.
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