Yunus Rahmatullah was seized by British specials forces in Iraq in the early half of 2004 but was handed over to the American military. He was secretly transported to Bagram, a sprawling prison complex in Afghanistan that has played a pivotal role in the CIA’s controversial extraordinary rendition programme.

Britain only lets allies take prisoners if they sign a “memorandum of understanding” which allows the original arresting country full access to the detainee and the ability to return him to UK custody if requested.

If Washington refuses to hand over Mr Rahmatullah it would cast serious aspersions on how much the United States can be relied upon to stick to the deals it strikes with allies during times of conflict.

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