Barack Obama has delivered 'slap in the face' over British Guantanamo detainee, claim MPs
Shaker Aamer has been in the detention centre for the past 13 years
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Your support makes all the difference.President Barack Obama has delivered a “slap in the face” to Britain over the American failure to release the last UK resident in Guantanamo Bay, four MPs have protested.
The Conservatives Andrew Mitchell and David Davis and Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn and Andy Slaughter set aside their political differences to launch a scathing attack on the White House over the fate of Shaker Aamer.
He has been in the controversial US detention centre since he was picked up in Afghanistan 13 years ago, but has never been charged or tried. Mr Aamer, whose family lives in London, has never seen the youngest of his four children.
Mr Cameron has repeatedly urged the President to intervene, making his most recent appeal when the leaders met at the G7 summit in Germany.
The four MPs visited Washington last month to press the case for Mr Aamer’s release. Writing in the New York Times, they said they felt “shortchanged” by the response they received from Obama administration officials and senators alike.
They wrote: “It is difficult for us to shake off the depressing notion that the Obama administration is indifferent to the repeated requests of the British government. It is a slap in the face for America’s staunchest friend.
“These things matter in the war against terrorism. All four of us are senior members of Parliament who represent minority and Muslim communities in our constituencies.
“The scourge of terrorism will never be defeated unless we can win the hearts and minds of those who might be receptive to the terrorists’ message. And respect for justice and for the rule of law is essential in that battle.”
They described as “deeply insulting” the Pentagon’s suggestion that British security services might not be able to keep an eye on Mr Aamer.
“We are, after all, America’s most trusted ally, and have stood shoulder to shoulder with the United States, expending our blood and treasure, in two controversial wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” they said.
Campaigners for his release have organised a series of events to highlight Mr Aamer’s plight and plan fresh publicity on US Independence Day, July 4.