U.S. 'riding roughshod' over UK as Guantanamo detainees sent to Bermuda in secret deal

The U.S. is accused of 'riding roughshod' over the UK by failing to consult on a deal to send former Guantanamo detainees to British colony Bermuda.



Senior MP Mike Gapes, who chairs the influential Commons foreign affairs committee, suggested Washington may have offered to go 'soft' on the island's tax haven status as a sweetener.



Downing Street also pointed the finger at the Bermudan government for apparently acting beyond its powers in unilaterally accepting the four Chinese Muslim Uighurs.

From Guantanamo: Chinese Uighur detainees

To Bermuda: The four have been sent to the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda - without Downing Street's permission



It has ordered an urgent security check and is considering what steps to take over the controversial transfer, which took place yesterday.



Mr Gapes, a Labour MP, said: 'The U.S. is clearly determined to act in what it perceives as its own national interest even riding roughshod over what it should have done, which is spoken to the British Government.



'The proper authority here is the British Government and the U.S. should have consulted with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office before they did anything of this kind,' he told BBC Radio 4's The World at One.



'I wonder what promises have been given to the Bermudians, potentially about going a bit soft on the tax haven status or something else as a quid pro quo.'



The arrival of Barack Obama in the White House did not mean an end to America acting in its own interests, said Gapes.



Bermuda's Prime Minister Ewart Brown will be under fire for apparently acting beyond his powers in accepting the four

'We need to be aware that, despite the change of U.S. administration, there are going to be problems sometimes with the U.S. when it acts in a way which doesn't take account of and doesn't consult with its allies.'



Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said it was 'astonishing' that Downing Street knew nothing about the situation.



Foreign Secretary David Miliband has spoken to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the wake of the transfer amid anger at this deal which kept London in the dark.



'We have underlined to the Bermuda government that it should have consulted the UK on whether this falls within their competence or is a security issue for which the Bermuda government do not have delegated responsibility,' a Foreign Office spokesman said.



'We have made clear the need for a security assessment which we are now helping them to carry out.'



Mr Hague demanded an explanation from Mr Miliband and said the Government appeared to have 'lost grip of running the country'.



'It is astonishing that an agreement of such significance between the U.S. and Bermuda, involving the resettlement of four former terrorist suspects to a British Overseas Territory, could have taken place without a ripple reaching Whitehall,' he said.



'The UK is responsible for Bermuda's external relations, defence and security and for appointing its Governor. Yet the FCO appears to have had no idea that these discussions were taking place.



'This can only confirm the perception that the Labour Government has been so busy with its own internal turmoil that it has lost grip of running the country.



'Even before this blunder there were serious questions about whether the Government has paid sufficient attention to the UK Overseas Territories.



The four former detainees did not have papers so could not travel to the UK.



Bermuda Premier Ewart Brown agreed the deal as President Obama bids to find nations willing to accept remaining ex-detainees from the controversial Cuba camp which he has pledged to close.



U.S. authorities have deemed the four not to have been enemy combatants - but Mr Gapes questioned why in that case they could not be allowed to settle in America.



He said: 'If these people are no threat to anybody then why on earth doesn't the United States accept them into U.S. territory?'



