Asked by: Neil Carmichael (Conservative - Stroud)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assurances he has had from the US administration about the (a) treatment of remaining prisoners at Guantánamo Bay and (b) efforts to seek the release of Shaker Aamer.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
With the exception of those relating to Shaker Aamer, the British Government receives no specific assurances from the US administration about the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, as no British nationals remain among them. However, whilst Shaker Aamer is not a British national, his connections to the UK mean that he remains a high priority for the British Government. We continue to seek assurances regarding Mr Aamer’s health and welfare through our engagement with the US authorities, and we continue to make clear to the US that we want him released and returned to the UK as a matter of urgency.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why Mr Shaker Aamer, the British resident detained at Guantanamo Bay, has not yet been released; what were the last representations they made on his behalf; and what was the reply to them.
Answered by Baroness Warsi
Decisions over the release of Mr Aamer rest entirely with the United States government. The British government has made clear to the United States that we want Mr Aamer released and returned to the UK. The United States government has made clear to us that they understand our position. The then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), last raised Mr Aamer’s case in a letter to US Secretary of State, John Kerry, at the end of last month.