Muslim's lobby over Cuba Britons

Almost 550 detainees from around 40 countries are held at the base

Home Office minister Hazel Blears has met Muslim leaders to discuss the return of British detainees from Guantanamo Bay, it has emerged.

They called for the four men to be given immediate medical attention on their return to the UK next week.

The men - three from Birmingham and one from London - have been held at the US naval base in Cuba for three years.

The US agreed the four could return to face questioning under anti-terror laws after "complex" talks with the UK.

Police decision

Moazzam Begg, from Birmingham, and Martin Mubanga, Richard Belmar and Feroz Abbasi, from London, could be arrested on arrival in Britain.

Our concern is that when they arrive, these four Britons receive medical attention and care Muslim Council of Britain

Announcing their release on 11 January, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the police and the Crown Prosecution Service would decide if they would face prosecution.

Muslim Council of Britain secretary general Iqbal Sacranie was among the group meeting Ms Blears on Monday.

Council spokesman Inyat Bunglawala said: "Our concern is that when they arrive, these four Britons receive medical attention and care because they have been very heavily traumatised and possibly tortured as well."

British police would decide if there were "still questions to answer" but they had already been "questioned extensively" at Guantanamo, he added.

Representatives from the Muslim Safety Forum and the Muslim College also attended the meeting.

'Lawless icon'

A Home Office spokesman said ministers had met Muslim representatives on many previous occasions.

"These contacts allow us to keep abreast of issues relating to the safety and security of Muslim communities, their relations with other communities and progress in addressing concerns about equality and discrimination," he said.

Human rights campaigners have been outraged at the treatment of detainees in Cuba.

Amnesty International has called Camp Delta a "major human-rights scandal" and an "icon of lawlessness".

Both Amnesty and the lobby group Guantanamo Human Rights Commission described the release of the British four as "long overdue".