§ Mr. LyonsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the ages are of the UK citizens in custody in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. [183302]
§ Mr. MullinThe ages of each of the four British nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay are 24, 24, 31 and 36.
§ Mr. BestTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will provide an update on the situation of the British Guantanamo detainees. [183318]
§ Mr. MullinThe Government have consistently sought to resolve the position of the British nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay. Our position is that the British detainees should either be tried fairly in accordance with international standards or returned to the United Kingdom.
Following discussions with the US Government, led for the Government by my noble Friend the Attorney-General, we concluded that the US military commission process would not provide sufficient guarantees of a fair trial in accordance with international standards. The Government therefore asked that all nine British detainees be returned to the UK. Five were returned in March.
Following a visit by officials to Washington in May, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister repeated our request that the remaining four detainees be returned to the UK. We continue to work to resolve their situation.