Camp X-Ray Britons named

It is unclear how many Britons are being held in Cuba

The names of two more Britons being held among suspected al-Qaeda or Taleban members in Camp X-Ray have been released by the Foreign Office.

Asif Iqbal, 20, and Shafiq Rasul, 24, were taken to the maximum security prison at the US navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after being captured in Afghanistan, officials confirmed.

The men are alleged to belong to a hardline Islamic group based in the small West Midlands town of Tipton, and to have travelled to Afghanistan to fight after 11 September, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

They are being held alongside at least one other Briton, Feroz Abbasi, 22, from Croydon, south London, who was named by officials last week.

I understand that they have no complaints about their condition and this is being conveyed to their families

Adrian Bailey, MP

On Sunday US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is due to visit the camp, which has been the subject of growing international criticism.

Mr Rumsfeld's trip comes as at least one US newspaper reports signs of a growing difference of opinion in the Bush administration over the classification of the prisoners.

The Washington Times reports that Secretary of State Colin Powell has joined those calling for the 158 men to be re-classed as prisoners of war - a status which would give them certain rights.

'Satisfactory conditions'

Adrian Bailey, Labour MP for West Bromwich West, confirmed that Mr Iqbal and Mr Rasul are from his constituency.

He told the BBC they had been seen by British officials who were satisfied with their treatment.

Mr Bailey said: "I understand that they have no complaints about their condition and this is being conveyed to their families."

He denied his constituency was a "hotbed for Islamic extremism", adding: "When I have visited the mosque the conversations have been about the bread and butter issues everyone has of housing, employment and education.

"I've had no indication of the issues which seem to entertain Muslim extremists.

Briton Feroz Abbasi is also among the prisoners

"In my conversations with the local community leaders they are as mystified and puzzled as I am as to why two people from a long-established Muslim community should be part of al-Qaeda."

Reports have suggested that up to five Britons are being held in the Cuban camp and two in Afghanistan.

But the Foreign Office has refused to confirm numbers until it has checked claims of British citizenship made by some prisoners.

After touring the camp a US senator said many of those being held would be sent back to their home countries.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has also said Britain would prefer its citizens to be returned to the UK to face trial.

'Illegal combatants'

Colin Powell's reported call for the detainees to be made prisoners of war is apparently to be discussed by President George W Bush's National Security Council on Monday.

Any shift in policy would be a dramatic change for the US authorities, who have insisted the men are "illegal combatants" and therefore not entitled to the protections of the Geneva Convention.

Officials have stressed, however, that the detainees are being treated in a manner which they say is consistent with the convention.

Pictures released last week raised fears about human rights

Mr Bush's top legal adviser, Alberto Gonzales, is said to have sent a four-page secret memorandum to the president about Mr Powell's call.

According to the Washington Times, Mr Gonzalez advised the new type of war being fought makes parts of the Geneva Convention obsolete.

Since the prisoners arrived in Cuba the US government has been accused of torture.

They are being kept in 8ft by 8ft cells with wire fence walls and metal roofs, and are apparently flown from Afghanistan shackled at the legs and waist, wearing blacked-out goggles, ear defenders, and face masks.