President Donald Trump’s nominee to become the new CIA director has said she would “never, ever” restart the controversial interrogation programme the agency used in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Nominee Gina Haspel faced tough questions about her involvement with the programme during her Senate confirmation hearing. Under fire from senators, the 33-year CIA veteran promised not to reinstate the programme – which employed interrogation methods some have called torture – but refused to call the past actions immoral.

“I have views on this issue, and I want to be clear,” she told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “I can offer you my personal commitment, clearly and without reservation, that under my leadership CIA will not restart such a detention and interrogation programme.”

Pushed by Democratic senators to declare her independence from Mr Trump, Ms Haspel went further, saying she would refuse to carry out orders from the president if she thought they would bring the CIA into immoral territory. But Ms Haspel avoided repeated questions about whether the interrogation programme was immoral, saying only that the CIA should hold itself to a “stricter moral standard” now.

“My moral compass is strong, I would not allow CIA to undertake activity that I thought was immoral, even if it was technically legal,” Ms Haspel said. “I would not permit it.”

She added: “I would never, ever take CIA back to an interrogation programme.”

Gina Haspel hearing interrupted by an anti torture protestor yelling bloody gina

Ms Haspel added that she does not believe torture works, as the president has claimed, but said that the CIA did get valuable information from its interrogation of Al-Qaeda operatives after 9/11. It is unclear whether the “enhanced interrogation techniques” were used in all of these cases.

Questions about Ms Haspel’s role in the programme stemmed largely from her time running an American “black site” prison in Thailand – the same time in which at least one detainee was waterboarded.

Groups such as Human Rights First and Physicians for Human Rights – and even the British government – have called such techniques torture. A Senate Intelligence Committee report from 2014 found the CIA interrogation programme was flawed and that officials portrayed it as more effective than it was.

Ms Haspel’s record at the CIA raised enough questions that Trump administration officials summoned her to the White House over the weekend for discussions. The nominee reportedly volunteered to step down at the time, but the administration assured her of its full support. Mr Trump defended his pick’s record as “tough on terror” in a Monday morning tweet.

Still, Ms Haspel’s confirmation hearing was repeatedly interrupted on Wednesday by protesters calling her “bloody Gina” and accusing her of being a torturer. Several senators said they were reluctant to approve her confirmation, for fear it would signal their acceptance of a dark period in American history.

Senators also wanted to know about Ms Haspel’s role in the destruction of nearly 100 tapes of prisoners being waterboarded in 2005. Ms Haspel has admitted to drafting a cable ordering the destruction of the video tapes, but claimed her boss, Joe Rodriguez, was the one to send it.

During the hearing, Ms Haspel emphasised that Mr Rodriguez had not consulted her before sending the final memo. She also claimed to have drafted the orders with the help of CIA lawyers, who consistently informed her that destroying the tapes was legal.

But senators pointed out that numerous officials – including two White House lawyers – opposed the destruction of the tapes at the time. Ms Haspel also knew, the senators emphasised, that the CIA lawyers were not copied on the final version of the memo that Mr Rodrigues sent out.

A 2011 disciplinary review by former CIA deputy director Michael Morrell absolved Ms Haspel of any responsibility in the incident.

Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. 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Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." 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Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. 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Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

Many senators were frustrated on Wednesday by the lack of publicly available information about Ms Haspel’s career, the majority of which was spent undercover. The Senate was given access to classified information about Ms Haspel’s time at the CIA, but little has been released to the public.

“So far the American people have only been given information that is designed to help you get confirmed,” Senator Ron Wyden complained. “The rest is classified.”

Ms Haspel admitted that, as acting CIA director, she had the power to decide what information about her career was released to the public. But she said that she had chosen to follow agency guidelines on declassification, and had not made any exceptions for herself.

Ms Haspel previously served as deputy director of the CIA under former director Mike Pompeo. Mr Trump nominated her to the top CIA spot after choosing Mr Pompeo to serve as secretary of state. If confirmed, she will be the first woman to lead the CIA.