Afghans 'unlawfully' held at Camp Bastion 'could be handed over'
The Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, has admitted up to 90 Afghans are being held without charge in the main British military base in Afghanistan.
Mr Hammond told ITV News that abuse taking place at one Afghan facility had left Britain "uncomfortable" with handing the men over, but that they could be handed over to the Afghan authorities within three weeks.
His comments came after lawyers acting on behalf of some of the suspected insurgents claimed their internment could have been unlawful.
British forces in Afghanistan, operating as part of the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), are allowed to detain suspects for 96 hours but can hold them for longer in "exceptional circumstances", the Ministry of Defence said.
However, lawyers representing eight of the men said they had been held by the British Army for up to 14 months without charge, after they were arrested by soldiers in raids in villages in Helmand and Kandahar provinces.
Mr Hammond said he would now go to the court within the next few days to gain approval for the plans to transfer the detainees.
ITV News' International Editor Bill Neely reports:
Earlier today, Phil Shiner of Public Interests Lawyers, whose firm has begun legal proceedings on behalf of two of the men, said:
And Afghanistan's ambassador to the UK Mohammad Daud Yaar said the Government should hand over the detainees, saying investigators had found "some occasions of torture" in Afghan prisons but it was "not systematic".