Official advised captive's mother not to hire lawyer

The mother of a British prisoner being held with other terrorist suspects at Camp X-Ray in Cuba was advised by the Foreign Office not to seek legal help for her son, she said yesterday.

Zumrati Juma, whose son, Feroz Abbasi, is one of five Britons held at Guantanamo Bay, said a named Foreign Office official told her: "I do not think it is advisable to find a lawyer for Feroz at the moment ... basically, there is nothing much a lawyer can do at present."

Senior lawyers and human rights groups said they were outraged at what they saw as attempts by the Foreign Office to prevent a British detainee receiving legal advice. David McIntosh, president of the Law Society, said: "Whoever prevents access to justice is doing something very wrong. Lawyers are the gateway to justice."

The revelation came on the day the Law Society and Bar Council backed lawyers acting for the British detainees in suing the British Government under the Human Rights Act over the "unlawful detention" of the suspects in the Cuban camp.

The families are seeking a judicial review of what it terms the Blair government's "collusion" in the US treatment of the prisoners. Louise Christian, solicitor for Mr Abbasi, said: "My client was denied access to a lawyer and has not been told what he is charged with. This is unlawful and the British government is complicit with the US authorities in that.

"Consular access was denied to the prisoners. However, an unnamed British diplomat was offered access to them, and we believe he was an MI6 agent. This information was passed to the US authorities. This is just one aspect of the complicity of the British government."

Ms Christian added that the British government should not only take up the case of the Britons in Cuba but 40 other British nationals who are said to be held in Afghanistan.

Mark Muller, deputy chairman of the Bar Council's Human Rights Committee, said: "We have grave concerns about the treatment of UK detainees by US authorities, who have failed to abide by international laws. The British government must not stand by silently while the basic rights of British detainees are being trampled by the US."

The Bar Council joined the detainees' lawyers and the Law Society in expressing surprise and disquiet at the Foreign Office's "interference" in the judicial process.

Ms Juma, according to a statement she made to her lawyers, contacted an official at the Foreign Office, who described herself as the case worker in charge of the Britons being held in Camp X-Ray. When Ms Juma proposed finding a lawyer for her son, the official responded: "I do not think it is advisable to try and find a lawyer for Feroz at the moment because he is not charged with any crime. All the Americans are doing is trying to interrogate him. Basically, there is nothing much a lawyer can do at present." Later the official described Camp X-Ray, where the detainees are being held, as a "place of safety and not a prison". She added: "Besides, if Feroz is charged by the Americans and tried in America, he will be entitled to a lawyer in the United States. There will be no access for lawyers from over here to defend him over there."

Asked to comment about the official's "advice" to Ms Juma, the Foreign Office said yesterday: "We support the US's right to bring suspected al-Qa'ida terrorists to justice. Al-Qa'ida represents a threat to the UK as well as the US national security. We have asked the US to clarify the legal procedures under which the detainees may be prosecuted.

"We have passed on requests from the families for access by lawyers. Our consular officials cannot give legal advice."