Five of the nine British citizens detained at the US Guantanamo Bay prison camp are to be returned to Britain, the government said on Thursday.
The nine are among about 660 people held at the camp on Cuba, set up in January 2002 to hold combatants captured in Afghanistan.
Two of them are among a small group designated for trial before military commissions.
A government official said the fate of the remaining four was still under discussion. It was not immediately clear what would happen to the five when they are returned to Britain.
Denmark announced earlier on Thursday that it had struck an agreement with Washington for the return of one of its nationals held by the United States at the base.
Human rights groups have complained bitterly about the treatment of internees at the camp.