A former detainee of Guantanamo Bay has described the "torturous environment" of the prison camp in which he was held for three years without charge.

Moazzam Begg, speaking at Hove's Old Market venue at the launch of his book Enemy Combatant, said Guantanamo had become "a symbol of Islamaphobia in the world".

He said: "Setting up this camp was one of the blackest days in the history of the USA, which has given rise to terrorism."

Mr Begg, a British citizen who was interrogated 300 times during his incarceration before being released last year without apology or explanation, said he would not reciprocate the "anger or hatred" shown to him.

He said he had not been tortured and described some of his American guards as friends.

But he believes he received better treatment than many prisoners because he spoke English well and understood the guards' commands.

Tuesday's event attracted several supporters of Omar Deghayes, the 37-year-old law graduate from Saltdean, Brighton, still languishing in Guantanamo Bay after four years.

Mr Begg said: "I never met Omar Deghayes but I was shown a photo of him and he looked terribly beaten and bruised."