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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| UK seeks Guantanamo men release | UK seeks Guantanamo men release |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The UK government has requested the release of five British residents from US custody at Guantanamo Bay. | The UK government has requested the release of five British residents from US custody at Guantanamo Bay. |
| The men are not British citizens but lived in the UK before they were detained by the US. | The men are not British citizens but lived in the UK before they were detained by the US. |
| The request is a change of policy for the government which had previously said it could not intercede for non-British citizens. | The request is a change of policy for the government which had previously said it could not intercede for non-British citizens. |
| Foreign Secretary David Miliband formally wrote to his US counterpart Condoleezza Rice with the request. | Foreign Secretary David Miliband formally wrote to his US counterpart Condoleezza Rice with the request. |
| The five men are Shaker Abdur-Raheem Aamer, Jamil el-Banna, Omar Deghayes, Binyam Mohammed al Habashi and Abdulnour Sameur. | |
| Lengthy talks | Lengthy talks |
| They were former UK residents who had either been granted refugee status, indefinite leave or exceptional leave to remain prior to their detention. | They were former UK residents who had either been granted refugee status, indefinite leave or exceptional leave to remain prior to their detention. |
| The Foreign Office said "discussions with the US government about the release and return of these five men may take some time". | The Foreign Office said "discussions with the US government about the release and return of these five men may take some time". |
| "The government will of course continue to take all necessary measures to maintain national security. | "The government will of course continue to take all necessary measures to maintain national security. |
| "Should these men be returned to the UK, the same security considerations and actions will apply to them as would apply to any other foreign national in this country." | "Should these men be returned to the UK, the same security considerations and actions will apply to them as would apply to any other foreign national in this country." |
| US moves | US moves |
| The Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary said they had made the request because of recent steps taken by the US government to reduce the number of inmates at the camp in Cuba and "to move towards the closure of the detention facility". | The Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary said they had made the request because of recent steps taken by the US government to reduce the number of inmates at the camp in Cuba and "to move towards the closure of the detention facility". |
| "These steps include an increasing emphasis on engagement with third countries over the transfer and resettlement of those detained," the Foreign Office said. | "These steps include an increasing emphasis on engagement with third countries over the transfer and resettlement of those detained," the Foreign Office said. |
| BBC world affairs correspondent Paul Reynolds said the British government had sought to present the decision as the result of a greater American willingness to engage with third-country governments it was a clear change of UK policy. | |
| But he believed it was a clear change of policy following closely on a change of prime minister and foreign secretary. | |
| 'Counterproductive' | 'Counterproductive' |
| Although Britain, under Tony Blair, had called for the closure of Guantanamo it is now seems ready, under Gordon Brown, to challenge US policy over the camp more strongly, our correspondent added. | |
| The government said all UK nationals had been released from Guantanamo Bay by January 2005. | The government said all UK nationals had been released from Guantanamo Bay by January 2005. |
| But it had refused to act on behalf of the five men - a decision upheld by the Court of Appeal last year which agreed that requesting the return of non-British nationals would be counterproductive as the US had clearly said it would not negotiate with third countries. | But it had refused to act on behalf of the five men - a decision upheld by the Court of Appeal last year which agreed that requesting the return of non-British nationals would be counterproductive as the US had clearly said it would not negotiate with third countries. |
| "We judged that it would also have been counter-productive, at that time, to our wider aim of securing closure of the detention facility," the FCO said. | "We judged that it would also have been counter-productive, at that time, to our wider aim of securing closure of the detention facility," the FCO said. |
| "The situation has now changed and the Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary have reviewed the government's approach in light of these circumstances." | "The situation has now changed and the Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary have reviewed the government's approach in light of these circumstances." |
| Human rights group Liberty welcomed the request, with legal director James Welch saying: "This change of policy is extremely welcome, especially if it signals a bigger change of approach on both sides of the Atlantic. | |
| "Surely US and UK governments need no further evidence that internment, kidnap and torture have been completely counterproductive in the struggle against terrorism. | |
| "It's high time that the special relationship returned to its original values of defending liberty rather than degrading it." |