A group of former Guantanamo Bay detainees are set to sue the British Government, it has been reported.

Legal representatives for eight men freed from the notorious detention camp in Cuba are said to have issued writs against MI5 and MI6.

It is believed the men are claiming that British security services were complicit in the process leading to their detention.

Five of the eight are British, with the three other men currently living in the UK, it was reported.

A legal source closely involved in the upcoming case said on Saturday: "All we can say is that writs have been issued."

The Daily Mail has reported that two separate writs have been lodged by the eight men.

The paper said the first writ was issued at the High Court in London by lawyers acting for Omar Deghayes, Jamil el-Banna and Bisher al Rawi. All three men live in the UK but are foreign nationals.

Britons Moazzam Begg, Richard Belmar, Rhuhel Ahmed, Shafiq Rasul and Asif Iqbal, are named as claimants in the other writ, the paper reported.

Law firm Birnberg Peirce & Partners are believed to be representing a number of the men. A spokesperson for the firm said that nobody could comment on the case on Saturday. But Birnberg Peirce solicitor, Irene Membhard told the Daily Mail that writs had been issued on behalf of the men.

A spokesman for the Home Office said that it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage.