Britain asks for release of Guantanamo prisoners

? Britain’s new Prime Minister Gordon Brown asked the United States on Tuesday to free five British residents from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay – a policy reversal that was welcomed by the Bush administration.

The United States has been working to reduce the detainee population at Guantanamo with an eye toward closing the controversial detention center.

In some cases where a detainee is likely to be mistreated in their native country, the Bush administration has been appealing to nations with respected human rights records to take the Guantanamo Bay detainees it does not intend to try in U.S. military courts.

U.S. officials said Tuesday that Brown’s decision to ask for the transfer of non-British nationals was a positive step in broader efforts to cut back the number of inmates and eventually shut Guantanamo.