A HAGLEY human rights activist was among the first people to meet freed Guantanamo Bay inmate Shaker Aamer after he touched down on British soil.

Dr David Nicholl was among a dedicated band of people who campaigned tirelessly for the release of Mr Aamer, the last British resident languishing in the controversial US prison camp, and that day finally arrived yesterday (Friday).

The Saudi-born father-of-four, who had been locked up for 13 years without charge or trial, landed in Britain at around 1pm following his release - and one of the first people he wanted to meet was Dr Nicholl, who had done almost everything he could conceive, from running marathons to going on hunger strike, to try and keep Mr Aamer's plight in the public eye.

Dr Nicholl, a consultant neurologist working at a Birmingham hospital, said he was "still in a state of shock" after the meeting which took place less than two hours after Mr Aamer's plane landed in Britain.

He said: "It was just bizarre.

"When the 30-day noticed period was announced Clive Stafford Smith from Reprieve rang me and said Shaker wanted to meet me pretty much as soon as he arrived. His medical treatment has been so poor that he's completely lost faith in the healthcare profession but he knows he's got health issues. Then at 8.10am on Friday I got a text from Clive Stafford Smith saying he was coming that day."

The former inmate and campaigning doc then finally met for the first time in a secure location within two hours of the airport at Biggin Hill.

Dr Nicholl said Mr Aamer "looks a lot older than in the photos people have seen" and he will likely "have psychological demons that will last for years" but he told the News: "He's a really nice guy; he's got a lovely sense of humour, he's very determined and he's so grateful for all the work that everyone's done."

He added: "I feel my job is done. I wanted him to be in a position that he could present himself as a witness to the police not as a terror suspect. Whatever people think about Shaker Aamer no person should be in prison for 13 years without charge. We have a right to a fair trial; it's a fundamental policy of democracy."

Mr Aamer, whose wife and four children are British citizens, was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and it has been claimed he was tortured by US officials while British personnel were present before he was transferred to Guantanamo Bay.

His supporters believe he was left languishing in the notorious camp for so long because he may have witnessed unexplained deaths during his imprisonment.

He is now expected to bring legal proceedings against the British Government over its alleged complicity in his mistreatment.

Having been reunited with his wife and children - the youngest of which, Faris, was born the day he arrived at Guantanamo - Mr Aamer is understood to be receiving medical treatment in a "very secret location".