Peter Moore: Forget the torture chair — just pass the martini

In every spy movie the hero sits tied to a chair while the baddie hits him about trying to force out vital information.

Just to add drama, there may be a bright light shining in our hero’s eyes. Politicians may have some sympathy when torn apart on the Today Programme or Newsnight. But is this really the best way to extract information?

There is good evidence that extracting information under duress or even torture leads to duff information. It does not work. 

Contrary to every World War Two movie, when the Germans captured a pilot, they did not torture them to get secret information. If the Germans thought that he might have some useful information, they had a more subtle technique.

They had listened to other prisoners and picked up harmless gossip. A prisoner called in to be interviewed would be frightened but determined to only give name, rank and number. The interviewer wearing civilian clothes and speaking perfect English would offer a cigarette and sit back.

“Is Taffy still knocking off the barmaid in the Dog and Duck?” The prisoner then relaxed. That’s hardly a state secret which will help the Nazi cause, and, anyway, this person seems very friendly. He would then relax. “No, she chucked him out for Scotty.”

The two would then start a chat about the latest scandal. Having got relaxed and talking, the German interviewer could then manipulate the conversation into areas which were important to the war effort without the prisoner even noticing. 

The British used a similar technique, although rather more sophisticated. The government took over Trent Park, a stately home in North London. It was used to give luxury accommodation to senior German officers.

They were allowed to walk around the grounds and even given wine with their meals and whisky. They must have considered themselves very lucky. After a good meal and some wine, they could relax and talk to their fellow German officers, but, unknown to the prisoners, every room had hidden microphones. 

Through the careless talk we learned about the German rocket development leading to Operation Hydra, an attack by Bomber Command on the sites. We also learnt more about the Holocaust, although many of these officers were equally horrified by these atrocities.

We gained an understanding of the views of ordinary Germans. Many of these senior officers were disillusioned. One general was recorded saying, “We all share the guilt; we went along with everything instead of saying to hell with you and your stupid nonsense.”

The best way to gain useful information in an interview is to make the person relax. Aggressive questions can make people clam up. Often the most revealing interviews with politicians are not when they are given the third degree by an aggressive journalist but when sitting on the sofa on a chat show.

This is also a technique I used in my work as a GP and police surgeon. In one case a nurse was the victim of a burglary and sexual assault. The criminal admitted to the burglary but claimed that he never went near her.

She was understandably distressed and could not be certain. Although the police believed her story, they felt that it would not stand up in court under cross-examination.

I was called to examine her, and, by chatting, it turned out that she trained as a nurse in London in the early 1970s at the same time that I was a student. We got on well and had a chat about hospitals and student life in London in the 1970s. She relaxed and then said, “I’ve just remembered.

I think he licked my breast just here.” I swabbed the area, and we found his DNA. He changed his plea and was sent to prison for eight years. I suspect that if we had not reminisced over London in the 1970s, this man would have only been convicted of burglary. 

If the next James Bond movie shows Bond tied to a chair and Blofeld using some highly sophisticated torture equipment, we should shout out, “No, Blofeld. Just chill out, sit him in a comfy chair and offer him a Martini shaken but not stirred.”