Supporters of Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Deghayes welcomed comments from the Attorney General that the prison should close but said action, not words, was required.

The Attorney General yesterday became the most senior Government minister to publicly call on the United States to close Guantanamo Bay.

Lord Goldsmith QC said the existence of the detention camp in Cuba was "unacceptable".

In a speech to a terrorism conference organised by the Royal United Services Institute, Lord Goldsmith said the US's long tradition as a "beacon of freedom, liberty and justice" deserved to see Camp Delta consigned to history.

He said: "The existence of Guantanamo Bay remains unacceptable. It is time, in my view, that it should close."

Martine Nicholls, a campaigner for the release of Mr Deghayes, a 37-year-old man from Saltdean who has been imprisoned at Guantanamo for almost four years, said: "Words without deeds are welcome but are of limited value.

"What we need is action."