this from PA:
US President George W Bush will make the ultimate decision on who goes on trial in front of controversial secret tribunals, it emerged today.
Mr Bush came under fire from civil liberties groups last week when he signed a law allowing foreign terror suspects to go on trial in front of military judges without seeing the evidence against them.
The tribunals, which would have the power to order executions, were last used in the Second World War to prosecute Nazi infiltrators and could take place in complete secrecy.
Today Newsweek magazine reported that Mr Bush had told his aides he would decide who goes on trial at the secret tribunals.
No such trial is known to have taken place - but because of the strict secrecy they will operate under, it is possible that terror suspects could already have been executed without anyone knowing.
Under the system, a panel of judges would have to reach at least a two-thirds majority in favour of a guilty verdict, although the prosecution does not have to reach the standard of proving their case beyond reasonable doubt.
The accused would be unable to see much of the evidence against them during the trials, which White House officials envisage taking place on aircraft carriers and desert islands.
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