US ambassador says Britain in Guantanamo talks

LONDON – The outgoing U.S. ambassador to London says talks have been held with British officials about Britain accepting some Guantanamo Bay detainees if the camp for terrorist suspects is closed.

"I would hope that if the U.K. could see its way through to take some detainees that would certainly be helpful," Ambassador Robert Tuttle told The Times of London in an interview published Thursday.

"Certainly there have been discussions over that issue," said Tuttle, who is due to leave his post next month.

The U.S. Embassy confirmed the ambassador's quotes were accurate, but declined to elaborate.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has pledged to shut Guantanamo, which still houses about 250 detainees. Several European nations have said they are considering taking inmates who cannot be returned to their own countries because of the risk of persecution.

The U.S. says it is trying to reach agreement with third countries to resettle those detainees who are considered to pose little threat and have been cleared for transfer or release.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Sunday that Britain supported the closure of the detention camp in eastern Cuba but had not formally been asked to accept inmates.

Brown told the BBC that he was "not aware of any direct request on that at the moment." He said "we haven't been asked to, and you've got to look at the circumstances at the time."

On Monday, U.S. State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said the American government had renewed requests with a number of unidentified countries in recent months in a bid to resettle detainees.

"While I can't discuss the specifics of our bilateral negotiations with our friends and allies on this issue, we have been in contact with dozens of countries about resettling those detainees at Guantanamo Bay eligible for transfer or release," he said.