Britons detained at air force base

NORTHOLT, England -- Police arrested four Britons and detained a fifth as they returned to England late Tuesday from more than two years in U.S. military detention at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.\nThe five were among nine Britons whose captivity at the U.S. military prison had proved a sticking point between the warm allies for more than two years.\nA Metropolitan Police official said four of the group were arrested under provisions of the Terrorism Act. The fifth was detained by immigration authorities.\nThe Royal Air Force C17 landed Tuesday night at Northolt Royal Air Force Base west of London. Armored police vans awaited the flight and took the prisoners away.\nU.S. disputes over the captives had risen to President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose ties throughout the Iraq War, despite intense international criticism of both leaders, were unshakeable.\nWith the release of the five, negotiations will continue over the remaining four British detainees still at Guantanamo.\nBritain had demanded its nine nationals, some of whom had been held for more than two years without charge or access to lawyers, either be given fair trials or returned home.\nSome legal experts doubt there will be enough evidence to try the men because the conditions at Guantanamo could mean information gleaned there would be inadmissible in court. It is also unclear whether British courts have jurisdiction over alleged criminal acts in Afghanistan, unless crimes of terrorism or treason could be proved, the experts said.\nThat could create an awkward situation for Blair, who has emphasized that those held at Guantanamo had to be handled carefully because they might pose a danger to Britain's national security.\nHe has had to balance such concerns with anger from some Britons over the men's long-lasting detention without the normal rights afforded to defendants. One British judge said at a 2002 court hearing the Guantanamo camp was like a "legal black hole."\nAbout 640 prisoners are held at Guantanamo on suspicion of links to Afghanistan's fallen Taliban regime or the al Qaeda terror network.\nThe United States says the suspects are "enemy combatants" subject to different legal rules than prisoners of war. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments whether they should be allowed to challenge their detention in American courts.\nHome Secretary David Blunkett said Monday the five would "go through the normal process of being interviewed by the (police) counterterrorism branch in London. And the material that has been provided will be evaluated."\nGreg Powell, a lawyer representing detainee Rhuhel Ahmed, said his client would be taken to the high-security Paddington Green police station in London for interrogation.\nThe government announced last month that five of the Britons held at Guantanamo would be released. They have been identified as Ahmed, 23; Jamal al-Harith, 35; Tarek Dergoul, 24; Asif Iqbal, 20; and Shafiq Rasul, 25.\nFamilies and lawyers of the five returned men have insisted they are innocent.\nLawyers say the five are most likely to be investigated under the Terrorism Act 2000, which allows prosecution for membership of a banned organization, fund-raising, recruiting of others or terrorist acts committed in Britain or overseas.\nThe future of the four still at Guantanamo -- Moazzam Begg, 36; Feroz Abbasi, 23; Richard Belmar, 23; and Martin Mubanga, 29 -- remains uncertain.\nBegg and Abbasi had been listed as some of the first detainees likely to face a military commission, a possibility Britain has criticized.\nBlair's official spokesman said Tuesday the Britons should only be tried in the United States if they had access to legal representation and rights of appeal, which he said was not the case now.