The UK government has requested the release of five British residents from US custody at Guantanamo Bay, BBC reported.

The men are not British citizens but lived in the UK before they were detained by the US.

The request is a change of policy for the government which had previously said it could not intercede for non-British citizens, BBC commented.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband formally wrote to his US counterpart Condoleezza Rice with the request.

The five men are Shaker Abdur-Raheem Aamer, Jamil el-Banna, Omar Deghayes, Binyam Mohammed al Habashi and Abdulnour Sameur.

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