Guantanamo Britons held in US to be free within weeks

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The last four British detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba will be returned to the UK after more than two years in captivity, Jack Straw announced today.

In a statement to the Commons, the Foreign Secretary said that the men, arrested after the invasion of Afghanistan, would be back on home soil in the next few weeks following a period of "intensive and complex" discussions with the US.

Police will interview each of the four - Moazzam Begg from Birmingham, Feroz Abbasi from Croydon, Martin Mubanga from Wembley and Richard Belmar from St John's Wood, London - before deciding whether to arrest them under the Terrorism Act.

Five other Britons released from Guantanamo in March last year were held for just a few hours for questioning by police before being freed without charge.

Mr Straw insisted "every practical step" would be taken to maintain national security and public safety."

The agreement to release the four men, none of whom has been charged with any offence, was reached after negotiations between Tony Blair and Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State.

Mr Straw reminded the Commons that the men were among those detained after the "worst terrorist atrocity which the US, the UK and indeed the world have ever suffered" - the September 11 attacks on America. He said: "The four men will be returned in the next few weeks.

"Once they are back in the UK, the police will consider whether to arrest them under the Terrorism Act 2000 for questioning in connection with possible terrorist activity. Any subsequent action will be a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

"I should like to assure the House that every practical step will be taken by the relevant UK authorities to maintain national security and to protect public safety."

He said that throughout the period of detention, the Government had sought to "balance the need to safeguard the interests of Britons detained overseas with our duty to meet the threat from international terrorism."

He added: "Working with our allies, we will continue resolutely to defend these rights through a robust and determined approach to combating terrorism and its networks of support wherever it is to be found."

Michael Ancram, the Shadow foreign secretary, welcomed the announcement. But he said the Conservatives still had reservations about other detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

Mr Straw said a total of 200 detainees had been set free from Guantanamo Bay since their original detention three years ago.

He said: "However, the US government believes that a number of detainees released have returned to terrorism, demonstrating the dilemma faced by the US in considering such releases."

Times Online