Blunkett criticises US over Guantánamo

[hedgetrimmer]

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JASON BEATTIE
CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT


Key points

• Home Secretary David Blunkett accuses US authorities of denying basic human rights to Guantánamo detainees
• Home Secretary announces he will use visit to discuss terrorism in Washington to raise concerns over Guantánamo
• Five of nine British detainees to be released after terms agreed with US
• Blunkett cannot rule out criminal proceedings against returned Britons but indicates they might not face trial as evidence diluted by time
• More than 200 nationals held at GB since being detained by US forces in Afghanistan in 2001
• UK delegation fighting for release of detainees travels to US to deliver a letter to President Bush

Key quote
"I would like them treated in a way we have treated those we believe terrorism, which is to give them a proper due process; a legal process which has right of appeal" – David Blunkett, Home Secretary

Story in full DAVID Blunkett risked provoking a transatlantic row last night after he accused the authorities in the United States of denying the detainees in Guantánamo Bay their basic legal rights.

The Home Secretary’s remarks, made on the eve of a trip to Washington to discuss further

Capitol Hill

Anglo-American co-operation on terrorism, were in sharp contrast to the more diplomatic tone struck by Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, when discussing the high-security prison camp in Cuba.

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link: http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=268522004