Released UK detainees slam US and British governments

"When I was interrogated, the Americans used to say 'How come you're so clean? We've put your name and face through Interpol and we can't even find a speeding ticket'.

"I told them: 'That's because I've never done anything wrong in my life. You don't have anything on me and you still won't have anything on me when I walk out of here' - and that's exactly what happened.

"I think that's why they were so hard on me. They couldn't bear to admit they had made a mistake."

The words are from Jamal al-Harith, a former Web designer from Manchester, speaking to the UK's Mirror newspaper.

Before they were released, the Americans asked the five [British] men to sign a piece of paper confessing to links with al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Jamal said: "This was given to me first by the Americans and then by a British diplomat who asked if I agreed to sign it. I just said 'No'.

"I would rather have stayed in Guantanamo than sign that paper.

"That night, all the inmates sang Islamic songs for me, wishing me well.

"The next morning, as I walked past them in chains for the last time, they shouted out: 'Don't forget us, Jamal. Tell the world, tell the Press, about what is happening here'."