Five Britons returning from Cuba
The detainees have been held for two years without trial
Five Britons held at Guantanamo Bay as terrorism suspects for two years are due to return to the UK on Tuesday, the home secretary has confirmed.
Speaking in the US, David Blunkett said anti-terror police would question the men on their return from Cuba.
Their release was secured after the US concluded they presented a low risk.
Mr Blunkett indicated four other UK detainees would probably face trial in the US as they had been picked up "in the combat zone" in Afghanistan.
He said: "The evidence that has been picked up is best used in the US, not in Britain, because the people who evaluated that evidence, who heard that evidence, are of course those who were present and have been involved with the interrogation process."
BRITONS BEING RELEASED
Shafiq Rasul, 24, of Tipton, West Midlands
Asif Iqbal, 20, of Tipton
Ruhal Ahmed, 21, of Tipton
Jamal Al-Harith, 35, from Manchester
Tarek Dergoul, 24, from east London
Guantanamo Bay Britons
Relatives ask for justice
But he stressed the British government had made representations to the US about how they were dealt with.
"We have spelt out the process that we have adopted and the requirements that we have built in for an appeal and legal representation.
"I'm very clear that the Attorney General's view was that if people were to be held and tried on the basis of the material that the US have, it would be better that they were tried with process here.
"We're still in the process of discussion."
The four remaining men are Feroz Abbasi, 23, Richard Belmar, 23, and Martin Mubanga, 29, all from London, plus Moazzam Begg, 36, from Birmingham.
Fair Trials Abroad said Mr Blunkett's speech signalled the end to British opposition to the "kangaroo courts" proposed by the US.
"The evidence given by officials can, of course, be given anywhere in the world," lawyer Stephen Jakobi said.
"The testing of its veracity, however, would be different before a British court.
"The Guantanamo kangaroo procedures would give a far better chance of the innocent being convicted."
Immigration interviews
British ministers had been having detailed talks with the US on how trials should be carried out.
Have your say: Human rights
BBC crime correspondent Danny Shaw said the five men who were being released were due to fly in to RAF Northolt, in west London, on Tuesday evening.
Medical teams would be on hand to examine them and provide treatment if required.
Under the Terrorism Act, they could be detained for up to nine hours while immigration staff or police verify their details and interview them, Mr Shaw said.
Solicitor Greg Powell, who is representing Ruhal Ahmed, said his client, who he has never met, would be taken to Paddington Green police station in London for questioning.
'Wait and see'
Police might exercise their powers of arrest with some of the men, in which case they would be transferred to a high-security police station and could be held in custody for days.
Shanaz Ahmed, whose elder brother Ruhal is one of the Britons expected to return, said the family had not yet been contacted by officials.
"We will have to wait and see," she said.
The local MP for the three men from Tipton, Adrian Bailey, said police would be "quite justified" in detaining them for more questioning.
West Bromwich West member Adrian Bailey said there were "issues" to be addressed about why the three - Asif Iqbal, Shafiq Rasul and Ruhal Ahmed - were in Afghanistan three years ago.
"There are issues about how they got there, which we need to know in order to ensure that other young Muslim males do not follow that route," he told the BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3545033.stm
---------------------------------
Outstanding.
The detainees have been held for two years without trial
Five Britons held at Guantanamo Bay as terrorism suspects for two years are due to return to the UK on Tuesday, the home secretary has confirmed.
Speaking in the US, David Blunkett said anti-terror police would question the men on their return from Cuba.
Their release was secured after the US concluded they presented a low risk.
Mr Blunkett indicated four other UK detainees would probably face trial in the US as they had been picked up "in the combat zone" in Afghanistan.
He said: "The evidence that has been picked up is best used in the US, not in Britain, because the people who evaluated that evidence, who heard that evidence, are of course those who were present and have been involved with the interrogation process."
BRITONS BEING RELEASED
Shafiq Rasul, 24, of Tipton, West Midlands
Asif Iqbal, 20, of Tipton
Ruhal Ahmed, 21, of Tipton
Jamal Al-Harith, 35, from Manchester
Tarek Dergoul, 24, from east London
Guantanamo Bay Britons
Relatives ask for justice
But he stressed the British government had made representations to the US about how they were dealt with.
"We have spelt out the process that we have adopted and the requirements that we have built in for an appeal and legal representation.
"I'm very clear that the Attorney General's view was that if people were to be held and tried on the basis of the material that the US have, it would be better that they were tried with process here.
"We're still in the process of discussion."
The four remaining men are Feroz Abbasi, 23, Richard Belmar, 23, and Martin Mubanga, 29, all from London, plus Moazzam Begg, 36, from Birmingham.
Fair Trials Abroad said Mr Blunkett's speech signalled the end to British opposition to the "kangaroo courts" proposed by the US.
"The evidence given by officials can, of course, be given anywhere in the world," lawyer Stephen Jakobi said.
"The testing of its veracity, however, would be different before a British court.
"The Guantanamo kangaroo procedures would give a far better chance of the innocent being convicted."
Immigration interviews
British ministers had been having detailed talks with the US on how trials should be carried out.
Have your say: Human rights
BBC crime correspondent Danny Shaw said the five men who were being released were due to fly in to RAF Northolt, in west London, on Tuesday evening.
Medical teams would be on hand to examine them and provide treatment if required.
Under the Terrorism Act, they could be detained for up to nine hours while immigration staff or police verify their details and interview them, Mr Shaw said.
Solicitor Greg Powell, who is representing Ruhal Ahmed, said his client, who he has never met, would be taken to Paddington Green police station in London for questioning.
'Wait and see'
Police might exercise their powers of arrest with some of the men, in which case they would be transferred to a high-security police station and could be held in custody for days.
Shanaz Ahmed, whose elder brother Ruhal is one of the Britons expected to return, said the family had not yet been contacted by officials.
"We will have to wait and see," she said.
The local MP for the three men from Tipton, Adrian Bailey, said police would be "quite justified" in detaining them for more questioning.
West Bromwich West member Adrian Bailey said there were "issues" to be addressed about why the three - Asif Iqbal, Shafiq Rasul and Ruhal Ahmed - were in Afghanistan three years ago.
"There are issues about how they got there, which we need to know in order to ensure that other young Muslim males do not follow that route," he told the BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3545033.stm
---------------------------------
Outstanding.
