Guantanamo four may face house arrest

The four Britons freed from Guantanamo Bay could be held under the controversial new "house arrest" plans, Charles Clarke said today.

Mr Clarke's comments are bound to fuel a growing revolt against his plans to tag and curfew British citizens without trial.

Feroz Abbasi, Richard Belmar, Martin Mubanga and Moazzam Begg were reunited with their families after three years as US captives. US defence chiefs said they had been assured that the British authorities were taking "necessary steps" to contain the alleged threat.

The Home Secretary did not directly confirm that Britain shared the US fears. He said: "It is a matter I have to constantly review.

"I am of course well aware of the US concerns. We have listened to them and a security package was negotiated to ensure that every practical step is being taken by the relevant authorities ... to maintain national security."

He said the four had been released by the British police because "there was not enough evidence to bring charges". It follows a Law Lords' ruling that holding foreign terror suspects indefinitely without trial breached human rights.

Mr Clarke contrasted their treatment with the detention of foreign terror suspects at Belmarsh, saying: "There isn't at the moment any power to do anything other than what we have done. That is precisely why I made the announcement that we need to have a regime that could deal with UK nationals as well.

"When Parliament has had a chance to consider that and agree it, then we will have steps that we could take, but they are not on the statute books at the moment."

His comments implied strongly that the Guantanamo four would be subject to the house arrest system.

The new control orders will be used, without a trial, where intelligence suggests an individual is a danger. Mr Clarke will be able to order any Briton to be detained at home, subjected to curfew or electronic tagging, or banned from meeting people or using the internet or a mobile. No evidence need be aired in court and some detainees may not know what they are accused of.

The Cabinet today backed Mr Clarke's plan. In Switzerland, Tony Blair insisted: "I pay great attention to the civil liberties of the country. But on the other hand ... there is a new form of global terrorism.

"They will cause death and destruction on an unlimited scale and they will and are trying to organise such terrorist activity in our own country."

He said the measures would apply to "a handful of people".

But Natalia Garcia, lawyer for some of the detainees, said: "It is still internment without trial. We are in a Kafkaesque situation where the person will continue to be unable to challenge the evidence. There should be an outcry."

The Law Society accused Mr Clarke of "an abuse of power". Labour backbenchers warned of a Commons rebellion.