Five of the nine British prisoners being held in the US detention centre in Cuba's Guantanamo Bay are to be released, it was revealed today.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said that five of the detainees would be returned to the UK "in the next few weeks".
Mr Straw said that police would consider whether they should face questioning under the Terrorism Act 2000 when they get back to Britain.
He added said discussions were continuing with the US authorities over the other four Britons.
About 660 alleged al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere after the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks are being held at the maximum-security prison at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, although none has been charged.
The United States says the prisoners are "enemy combatants", not prisoners of war, and can be tried by military tribunals.
Human rights groups and some foreign governments have criticised the detainees' treatment and the lack of trials or access to lawyers.
The Supreme Court will decide this year whether the Guantanamo detainees can be held indefinitely without lawyers and hearings.