There are at least 680 people being held at Guantanamo Bay

The repatriation of Moazzam Begg and Feroz Abbasi for trial in Britain is among a "range of issues" being discussed between the UK and the US, according to a Number 10 spokesman.

Around 200 MPs have already signed a parliamentary motion calling for the two British citizens to be returned, amid fears they will not get a fair trial.

If what is being suggested is Moazzam will be brought back to be tried in a British court under due process it is to be warmly welcomed by the family A relative of Moazzam Begg

But a Number 10 spokeswoman said: "We are discussing a range of issues with the US administration, including repatriation, and those discussions continue."

The news was welcomed by a member of Begg's family, who did not want to be named.

"If what is being suggested is Moazzam will be brought back to be tried in a British court under due process it is to be warmly welcomed by the family."

The prime minister's official spokesman has said the government had "strong reservations" about the use of military commissions to try terror suspects held in Guantanamo Bay.

Earlier, when pressed on whether the home secretary had turned down an offer of repatriation for the British detainees, Mr Blair's spokesman replied David Blunkett "hadn't blocked any proposal to try them here".

'Difficult situation'

But on Thursday, the spokesman said: "We have made it clear to the United States that the detainees should be treated humanely.

"We have got strong reservations about military commissions and those reservations have been raised and will continue to be raised with the United States.

"We have said repeatedly that this is a highly unusual and difficult situation and obviously we would want to bring an end to it as swiftly as possible, but it is a complex situation," the spokesman said.

Feroz Abbasi and Moazzam Begg are among those facing the tribunals

"The information flowing from those at Guantanamo Bay is important in terms of the war against terrorism and we can't over look that."

Mr Blair will be under pressure to raise the matter with President George W Bush when the two meet in Washington next week.

Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrats foreign affairs spokesman, said: "Tony Blair must ask for President Bush's personal intervention in order that British nationals are returned to Britain, where they would stand trial if the evidence justified it."

But Conservative former chancellor Kenneth Clarke said the government should have raised this with the US months ago saying the prisoners were being held in an "extraordinary situation" in contravention of the Geneva Convention.

Rights denied

Under the proposed trial arrangements it is understood Mr Begg and Mr Abbasi will be denied the right to choose their legal representation.

The MPs' motion says the prisoners face a choice between pleading guilty and being given 20 years, or if they fail to do that and are convicted they face the death penalty.

The MPs also raise concern about the mental state of the two men after 18 months of incarceration in cages two metres wide and only 30 minutes of exercise twice a week.

During prime minister's question time on Wednesday, Mr Blair insisted: "Any commission or tribunal that tries these men must be one conducted within proper canons of law so that a fair trial is both taking place and seen to take place."

Concerns

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is understood to have raised the issue with his US counterpart Colin Powell twice in the past week.

There are at least 680 suspected al-Qaeda and Taleban members at the US naval base in Cuba.

President Bush decided last week that six of them, including Britons Mr Begg and Mr Abbasi and Australian David Hicks, should face trial in a military tribunal.

The announcement sparked a wave of protest from human rights groups who said the tribunals would be a "legal black hole".

The UK Government has already expressed concern about the men's access to lawyers, the standards of evidence and their rights to appeal in the case of any guilty verdicts.