Three men who returned to Britain after being freed from the American internment camp at Guantanamo Bay were in custody again last night. The men were taken to police stations in London and Befordshire as Spain sought the extradition of two of them in connection with terrorism offences.

The trio were released after Britain put pressure on America to clear out the infamous camp at Guantanmo. They had all been residents in Britain, but are not British citizens.

Jamil el-Banna, 45, a Jordanian, and Omar Deghayes, 38, a Libyan, the pair wanted by Spain, were accompanied by counter-terrorist police on the flight from Cuba. They had been detained without charge for five and six years respectively. The third detainee on the plane was Abdennour Sameur, 34, an Algerian.

Mr Deghayes and Mr Sameur were held under the Terrorism Act 2000 and taken to Paddington Green police station. Mr el-Banna was detained under port and border controls.

Mr Deghayes and Mr Sameur are thought to have been arrested because of evidence that they had been in Afghanistan and Pakistan at the time of the fall of the Taleban in 2001. Mr el-Banna was treated more leniently because he had not been near the combat zone at that time. The British authorities are thought to be content to release all three after interview, but security sources told The Times that Mr el-Banna and Mr Deghayes could face a fast-track extradition to Madrid on terrorist charges. Lawyers for the men, who were allegedly tortured in Guantanamo, deny the allegations made by Spain and said they would fight extradition.

It is understood that British authorities are considering imposing a control order to restrict Mr Sameur’s movements. All three had agreed to voluntary security arrangements — thought to include monitoring by and regular contact with security agencies — requested by the Government.

The release of the men, which followed lengthy negotiations with the US, appeared to have been choreographed to coincide with the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. However, Spain’s intervention is likely to provoke repercussions from the Muslim community. Clive Stafford Smith, lawyer for Mr el-Banna and Mr Deghayes, said he would fight any attempt to have his clients sent for trial in Spain.

He revealed that he had previously tried to encourage a Spanish extradition request as a means of extracting the men from Guantanamo, but said that the authorities in Madrid never showed any interest.

Mr Stafford Smith told Newsnight: “It is very dismaying. For quite a long time, we tried to get the Spaniards to demand their release because we thought it was an elegant way to get them out of Guantanamo. The Spaniards weren’t interested.

“The fact that the Spaniards were behind this wrongful detention in Guantanamo Bay is something they should be ashamed of. The idea now that they want to use this evidence we have proved to be false to take them for further detention is very worrying.”

Neither Mr el-Banna, a father of five British children, nor Mr Deghayes, who lost the sight in one eye when he was beaten by Guantanamo guards, have been charged with any terrorist offence in Britain or the US.

The Pentagon has described them as “extremely dangerous” but its evidence against them is alleged to have been obtained under torture and both were deemed fit for release from Camp Delta. A Spanish investigating judge first requested Mr el-Banna’s extradition in 2004 alleging that he was a key associate of Abu Qatada, the extremist cleric.

Documents disclosed to the US revealed that MI5 had approached Mr el-Banna in 2002 to become an informant, supplying information about Abu Qatada. He declined to comply and soon afterwards MI5 alerted the CIA to his arrival in The Gambia, where he was detained before being flown on a ghost flight to Guantanamo.

Spain’s interest in Mr Deghayes is understood to stem from his alleged appearance in a propaganda video featuring Mujahidin in Chechnya. His lawyers insist that the man in the film is a Saudi fighter called Abu Walid.

The release of the three detainees helped to ease one of the most contentious disputes clouding British- American relations.

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, told the Commons earlier this month that Britain would continue to press Washington for the closure of Guantanamo’s detention facility, and accept the transfer of remaining detainees with links to Britain.

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