Jack Straw

Jack Straw has confirmed that the four Britons remaining in Guantanamo Bay are set to be released.

The foreign secretary told the House of Commons on Tuesday that the men will return to Britain "within the next few weeks".

Moazzam Begg, Martin Mubanga, Richard Belmar and Feroz Abbasi have been detained by the US authorities for almost three years without trial after being captured in Afghanistan during the war against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Straw said the American authorities had secured "valuable" information from the remaining prisoners on the Cuban island although he acknowledged human rights concerns.

He said Foreign Office staff had visited the men regularly as well as liaising with their families and insisted the government remained concerned about other foreign nationals being held at the base.

The men's release had come about as a result of "intense and complex discussions to address US security concerns" following the release of the first five British prisoners last March.

"I should like to assure the House that every practical step will be taken by the relevant UK authorities to maintain national security and to protect public safety," Straw said.

"Throughout the period of detention of British nationals in Guantanamo Bay, the government has sought to balance the need to safeguard the interests of Britons detained overseas with our duty to meet the threat from international terrorism.

"Terrorism is opposed to the values of every faith and religion, and seeks to deny the most basic of human rights – the right to life, right to security, and the right to go about our daily business free from harm.

"Working with our allies, we will continue resolutely to defend these rights through a robust and determined approach to combating terrorism and its networks of support wherever these are found."

The police will now consider whether to arrest them under the Terrorism Act 2000 on their return.

Straw said he could not comment on the intelligence basis behind their detention because doing so could compromise any future trial.

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell, who has been at the forefront of campaigning for the men's release, said it would be "churlish not to welcome" the move.

However he said "serious questions" remain about the condition in which they were held and called the process "damaging" for the international community.