BRITAIN/US: The Blair government was on the defensive last night over the US's treatment of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and its own treatment of detainees in Britain.
As the cross party Human Rights Committee of MPs pressed for a meeting with the US ambassador to Britain, Mr William Farish, to discuss the conditions at Camp X-Ray, the Home Office was accused of consigning terror suspects interned under the government's new emergency powers to "concrete coffins".
As another batch of British troops flew out to join the multi-national security force in Afghanistan the Archbishop of Wales, the Most Rev Rowan Williams - a candidate to become the next Archbishop of Canterbury - questioned the "moral credibility" of America's continuing bombing campaign there.
The gathering debate about the treatment of the prisoners in Cuba - fuelled by the first pictures showing them manacled hand and foot - spelt acute embarrassment for the British government and underlined the potential danger for the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, in giving uncritical support for US actions.
The Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, attempted to defuse the row, insisting al-Qaeda suspects at the US base must be treated "humanely and in accordance with customary international law". While awaiting a report from officials who saw a number of British nationals held at Guantanamo Bay, Mr Straw said he was seeking information from the US about the circumstances in which the photographs published in newspapers yesterday had been taken.
But Mr Blair himself appeared to be facing both ways on the issue. Downing Street sources were quoted as saying he was personally "relaxed" about the treatment of the prisoners while he had warned President Bush it could become a "political issue" leading to widespread criticism of US policies in Afghanistan.
The Conservative leader, Mr Iain Duncan Smith, cautioned against any "rush to judgment" on the issue ahead of the awaited reports by government officials and the International Red Cross. However the Liberal Democrats spokesman, Mr Menzies Campbell, said the photographs of the detainees at Camp X-Ray were "undercutting the moral high ground" enjoyed by Mr Blair and President Bush as a result of their response to September 11th.
That message was hammered home by a front page Mail on Sunday splash showing the prisoners on their knees under the headline "Tortured" with the accompanying comment: "They can hear nothing, see nothing, smell nothing, feel nothing. Manacled hand and foot, they kneel in submission. Is this how Bush and Blair defend our civilisation
The embarrassment for the government was brought closer to home as Amnesty International prepared to meet relatives of eight men currently detained at Belmarsh high security prison.
As detectives continued questioning nine terror suspects held in Leicester, and with the security services reportedly preparing another round-up, Ms Gareth Pierce, who represents several of those presently detained on the order of the Home Secretary, said: "These men have been buried alive in concrete coffins and have been told the legislation provides for their detention for life without trial." However the Home Office insisted all detainees enjoyed the same rights as other category A prisoner.