Guantanamo Bay Briton Could Soon Be Freed

The man appointed by President Obama to speed up the closure of the Guantanamo prison camp has said there is no reason why Britain's last remaining detainee should not be released.

Many MPs have called for the US to free Shaker Aamer, who has been held in the US military prison for 13 years without charge. Even though he has long been cleared for transfer, he and 56 other prisoners due for release are still being held.

But now there is increasing speculation that Mr Aamer could be free within a few months.

Cliff Sloan, who until the end of last year was the State Department's Envoy dealing with prisoner transfers, told Sky News: "I am absolutely of the view that they should be moved with urgency. They should be moved just as promptly as possible.

"We are talking about people who have been at Guantanamo for 12 or 13 years, people who have been approved for transfer for more than five years and they should not be having to spend a day longer than necessary in Guantanamo."

Another official familiar with the detainees' cases told Sky News that Mr Aamer was being treated as a special case because of intense lobbying by the British government.

David Cameron raised the issue with President Barack Obama during a visit to the White House earlier this year.

Mr Aamer was born in Saudi Arabia, but has British residency status and his wife and four children live in London.

Even though there have been reports that the Pentagon would prefer to send him to Saudi Arabia, Sky News understands that is unlikely to happen.

Mr Sloan said: "I think the British government has made very clear their desire to have Shaker Aamer returned to the UK.

"I very strongly believe that if he has been approved for transfer and you have a country that is willing to accept the person in whom the US government has confidence about their security capabilities, and there's not an issue about humane treatment of the individual, then there is no sound reason for delay."

Ian Moss, a State Department official with responsibility for Guantanamo releases, told Sky News: "We recognise the importance the UK government has placed on resolving Mr Aamer's case in a timely manner, and we have made his case a priority."

Intelligence officials, Homeland Security, the Justice Department, State Department and White House all have to sign off in transfers, along with the Pentagon, and it is understood that it is the Department of Defence which has been causing the delay.

But this week the Washington Post has also reported that there is now an expectation that Mr Aamer will be released by the summer.