Heat on Blair over 'caged' captives

Tony Blair today came under fresh pressure over the al Qaeda prisoners, including a number of Britons, as the Archbishop of Canterbury said they must be treated according to the Geneva Convention protecting prisoners of war.

The Government has yet to gain even a firm date for access to at least three Britons now being held by the military on the US base of Guantanamo in Cuba.

Some 80 "detainees" are being held at the base amid growing protests from human rights organisations and others over reports that they have been shackled and hooded and are now in cages exposed to the elements.

The Prime Minister faced sharp criticism from a number of Labour MPs when he spoke to the parliamentary party yesterday. Although Mr Blair later, in the Commons, appeared to call for treatment in accordance with the Geneva Convention, No 10 today was still saying it was up to the US whether the captives should be regarded as prisoners of war, which would automatically put them under the Geneva umbrella. A Red Cross spokesman said he hoped the organisation would be flying out to monitor conditions "in the coming hours".

Dr Carey told BBC radio he and his fellow bishops believed in "humane treatment to all people who have been in a war situation". He added: "So there is a sense in which we must work to the Geneva Convention in all matters." However, he repeatedly sidestepped questions as to whether the men should be shackled.

Downing Street has been treading an uneasy line between defending tight security on the men, described by Mr Blair yesterday as "highly, highly dangerous", while at the same time agreeing they should be humanely treated.