The release of the last Briton held at notorious US detention centre Guantanamo Bay has been delayed.
Shaker Aamer, who has been held at the military jail in Cuba for the past 14 years, saw his hopes of finally being reunited with his family this weekend dashed thanks to a political visit to the base.
The US agreed last month to release the father-of-four, but Congress had to be given 30 days to consider the decision so he was not due for release until yesterday at the earliest.
But the visit of three Republican senators, on a 'fact-finding' mission to the base, once again delayed his long-awaited flight to freedom.
'Shaker is being held for purely logistical and political reasons now, which is dreadful,' Aamer's lawyer Clive Stafford Smith told the Mail on Sunday.
'They have had 30 days to prepare [for his release] - it only took 28 days after 9/11 to start a war in Afghanistan.'
Despite pleas to be released four days early in time to celebrate the 18th birthday of his daughter, last Tuesday, Mr Aamer, 46, has still not been released.
He last saw A-level pupil Johina when she was just four years old.
Mr Aamer was tortured at the detention centre, after being handed over to US forces in 2001.
He claims he had been working as a charity worker in Afghanistan before being kidnapped and passed to the US.
It is hoped that he will be able to fly back to London next week.
Mr Aamer, who has been diagnosed with physical and psychological ailments, said: ‘The very first thing I want is a cup of coffee, then for a doctor to look me over.
‘And then I want to talk to my wife. Alone. I need her to tell me what the kids are like, after so long. Only she knows this. I can’t know.
By Imogen Calderwood
