Home for Guantanamo five
FIVE of the nine Britons held by the Americans at Guantanamo Bay are to be returned to the UK, the Foreign Secretary announced last night.
The breakthrough follows months of wrangling between London and Washington over how to deal with the detainees who were held over suspected terrorist links in the wake of the invasion of Afghanistan.
In a statement to reporters at the Foreign Office, Jack Straw said in discussions with the Americans the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, had rejected US proposals to try them by US military tribunals.
And he said the Government was still pressing for the US either to put the remaining four men on trial "in accordance with international standards" or return them to Britain.
The five will fly home to their families in the United Kingdom within the next few weeks, Mr Straw said.
He said they could still face arrest by British police on their return under the Terrorism 2000 Act for questioning in connection with possible terrorist activity.