If not now, when?

'[British Foreign Secretary] Hague has yet to make a statement since Obama's pledge [to renew his effort to close Guantanamo], but Tory MP Jane Ellison revealed that, during a meeting with MPs campaigning for [Shaker] Aamer's release, he had raised the option of upping the ante through a public plea.'

'Concern is rising about the health of Aamer, who has spent more than 80 days on hunger strike.'

'Aamer's lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, said he was growing increasingly worried about the seriousness of his physical condition. Last week Stafford Smith twice attempted without success to contact Aamer via US authorities, prompting fears that Aamer, who is significantly beyond the point at which a hunger strike can cause "irreversible cognitive impairment", may be seriously ill.'

'Aamer, who has been held for more than 11 years, was cleared in June 2007. US documents dated November 2009 told him that the "United States government intends to transfer you as soon as appropriate arrangements can be made".'

Give me your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free

Critics have accused the government of paving the way for a selective immigration policy whereby only the wealthy will be able to marry who they want from abroad, and only migrants earning more than £31,000 a year will be able to settle in Britain.

They'll just have to go to America. Has our government decided we do not need more corner shops and restaurants, or future Mr Noons?