Camp Delta Britons set to return

Nine Britons held at Guantanamo Bay could be back in the UK within weeks, it emerged today.

The releases, which could give a major boost to Anglo-US relations, are expected to take place in two phases under a deal between London and Washington.

One group of Camp Delta detainees is set to arrive this month and another in January in a deal expected to be sealed this week.

The Britons could plead guilty to a series of charges and serve sentences in the UK or, in some cases, be released unconditionally.

One prisoner, Moazzam Begg, 36, has allegedly confessed to being part of an al Qaeda plot to kill Tony Blair by dropping anthrax spores on Westminster from an unmanned plane.

His British lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, dismissed the claims as "absurd" and said the deal would see the nine Britons effectively having to plead guilty to "nonsense charges".

Guantanamo Bay houses some 660 prisoners from 44 countries. None has been charged or allowed direct access to lawyers.