LONDON, May 11 (Xinhua) -- British Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith described the American detention camp at Guantanamo Bay as "unacceptable" and called for its closure, The Times newspaper reported on Thursday.

    "The existence of Guantanamo Bay remains unacceptable. It is time, in my view, that it should close," said Goldsmith, who was addressing on Wednesday evening at Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies (RUSI), a leading British think tank.

    "Not only would it, in my personal opinion, be right to close Guantanamo as a matter of principle, I believe it would also help to remove what has become a symbol to many - right or wrong -- of injustice," said Goldsmith, adding "The historic tradition of the United States as a beacon of freedom, liberty and justice deserves the removal of this symbol."

    Britain was unable to accept the U.S. proposals for setting up military tribunals to try Guantanamo detainees, said Goldsmith, who was negotiating with the U.S. on the release of nine British citizens who were detained in Guantanamo.

    "I was unable to accept that the procedures proposed for the military tribunals were adequate to ensure a fair trial. I am pleased to note that, following this decision, all the British detainees were returned to the UK," said the attorney-general.

    Goldsmith's criticism was much stronger than that of Prime Minister Tony Blair whenever he was asked about Guantanamo.

    The U.S. Guantanamo detention camp currently holds 490 detainees, with only 10 of them been charged with war crimes, and no verdict has been issued so far.

    The United States has been accused by human rights groups of mistreating detainees at Guantanamo and detaining them indefinitely. Enditem