Straw demands 'fair trial' for two Britons

Jack Straw has demanded that the two Britons facing prosecution at Guantanamo Bay should be given a 'fair trial' and called for them to be repatriated rather than face the death penalty.

In his first public comments since the row with America blew up over the fate of Moazzam Begg and Feroz Abbasi, the Foreign Secretary said he had explained the Government's reservations in a telephone conversations with his US opposite number, Colin Powell.

His intervention comes ahead of the Prime Minister's visit to America on Thursday, when he will raise concerns that the two men facing a US court trial over alleged links with al-Qaeda, are not being allowed their basic rights.

'We have made our views clear to the US administration all the way through and we will continue to make clear our reservations about the process,' Straw told The Observer.

'One option would be to return British citizens to the United Kingdom. Our opposition to the death penalty is well known to the US and is being emphasised by us.'

Number 10 sources said it was unlikely the men would be sent back to Britain, but the US had pledged to listen to concerns about their treatment and could agree to strengthen their legal rights.

If the death penalty were to be imposed, 'then we would have major, major problems', said one Whitehall official.

Abbasi, a 23-year-old student from Croydon, and Begg, a 35-year-old married man from Birmingham, are two of nine British suspects held at Guantanamo Bay.

The two men's lawyers say the tribunal rules deny them basic legal representation and the right to see evidence against them. They are called 'enemy combatants' and the US military will be judge and jury. The conditions of detention are considered to be in breach of international law.