DAVID BLUNKETT has blamed lawyers representing international terror suspects for stopping their transfer to a £100,000 “state-of-the-art” prison unit that was specially created for them.

The building at Woodhill prison in Milton Keynes was converted to create a more relaxed regime for the detainees. However, Whitehall officials said that the men and their lawyers had deliberately blocked the efforts to improve their living conditions.

Yesterday as controversy continued over a decision by the Special Immigration Appeal Commission to release an Algerian terror suspect because of his mental illness, Mr Blunkett said of the impasse over Woodhill: “We are caught all ways”.

The Home Secretary, who is considering changing the law to stop any more suspected terrorists being freed on bail, continued: “The unit in Woodhill was built for these detainees. Presumably with the advice of their lawyers they have refused to move there.”

The new accommodation was offered after claims by the detainees, their lawyers and civil liberties groups that the men’s mental and physical health was suffering.

The new facility offered self-catering, specially prepared food, more activities and free time, as well as a prayer room. However, the special unit has remained empty for months because of their refusal to move from Belmarsh prison in South London.

The Home Office disclosed yesterday that the suspects had even been offered “a day trip” to Woodhill to inspect the new accommodation. A Whitehall official said that in the end their lawyers and human rights groups had been given a guided tour of the facility.

“They seemed to approve of what we had done, but then all of a sudden the detainees changed their minds and said they would not move there so we can do nothing with it for the moment,” the official said.

Lawyers representing the men would not comment yesterday about Mr Blunkett’s claim that they were to blame. Nor would they give the detainees’ reasons for not moving.

The Prison Service began work on the Woodhill unit last year after the detainees and their lawyers complained about being held in Belmarsh alongside some of Britain’s most violent criminals.

However, officials said that the main reason the men gave for not transferring was that they would be locked up all together and not allowed to mix with other inmates. Livio Zilli, of Amnesty, who has spoken to some of the detainees, said that they were concerned about being too far from their families.

Lord Carlile of Berriew, QC,the independent reviewer of anti-terror laws, first told The Times in February how the detainees were refusing to move. He urged the Prison Service to provide separate accommodation after hearing complaints from some of the men about being kept alongside Category “A” convicted criminals at Belmarsh.

Lord Carlile told The Times: “I am disappointed and surprised that the new facilities have not been used.

“I have been assured that the decision has been founded on the merits of comparison between current location and that offered, and not on any tactical consideration formulated either by the detainees or their lawyers.”

He added: “I accept that assurance, but I consider that they are wrong in their decision.”

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