Downing Street Says » Guantanamo Bay/Terrorism

» Tuesday, March 9, 2004

Guantanamo Bay/Terrorism

Asked if the Government had given up all attempts to bring back the four British Guantanamo Bay detainees who were not being released, in the light of the Home Secretary’s comments in the US yesterday, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that the situation had not changed. What Mr Blunkett had actually said yesterday was that, in ‘ideal circumstances’, we believed that the best thing would be for the cases to be tried in the US. ‘Ideal circumstances’ meant people having proper legal representation and right of appeal. As we understood it, that was not the case at the moment. Discussions were continuing with the US authorities as to how this issue could be resolved. Asked if that position was consistent with the Foreign Secretary’s view that he did not want the detainees to be brought before a military tribunal, the PMOS said yes. Discussions were continuing. Asked if ‘proper legal representation’ meant the detainees having the complete freedom to choose who should represent them, the PMOS said that he did not think it would be helpful to get drawn into a discussion about the negotiations when they were still ongoing. That said, as we had stated consistently, the Attorney General had concerns about military tribunal commissions. Those concerns remained, which was precisely why discussions with the US were continuing.

Asked what would happen to the five British detainees once they arrived back in the UK, the PMOS said that it was a matter for the police and MoD to announce at the appropriate time. It was important to let this issue take its course in order to allow the British authorities to deal with it in the normal way and according to procedure.

Asked if Downing Street was concerned by a judicial ruling yesterday requesting the release of a Libyan who had been held in Belmarsh for sixteen months without sufficient evidence linking him to Al Qaida, the PMOS referred journalists to the Home Office for a response as this was a matter for the Department, not Downing Street.

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