Intelligence reports suggested that the Taliban's shadow government there imposed a curfew, imposed high informal taxes and delivered swift, harsh justice.

WSJ: U.S. Starts Afghan Surge

Mr Clarke, who had spoken of his dislike of harsh penal policies, was replaced as justice secretary by Chris Grayling, a relative hardliner who is already being encouraged to stand up to European human-rights judges.

ECONOMIST: The reshuffle

Meanwhile, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat asked the Justice Department to investigate whether the CIA obstructed justice by destroying the videotapes that documented the harsh 2002 interrogations of the alleged terrorists.

NPR: CIA Concedes It Destroyed Al Qaida Tapes

Survivor testimony published by the Justice for Magdalenes campaign group also depicted the workhouses as harsh and exploitative places.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Democrat Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, noted that three years ago, the White House disavowed an earlier Justice Department memo, known as the torture memo, permitting very harsh interrogation techniques.

NPR: White House Reacts to Interrogation Claims

Romero and other civil liberties groups called on the Justice Department to examine the activities of high-level Bush administration officials who approved harsh interrogation practices, including waterboarding detainees.

NPR: No Charges In Destruction Of CIA Interrogation Tapes

MPs and justice campaigners say some of the sentences given to those involved in the riots in England are too harsh.

BBC: Some England riot sentences 'too severe'