Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter welcomed the news of a British citizen's release from Guantanamo Bay after months of campaigning for his freedom.
Dad-of-four Shaker Aamer was the last British resident of the US detention camp and has been released after 13 years.
He landed at Biggin Hill Airport in Bromley just before lunch time to end an ordeal that has angered campaigners across the globe.
Speaking to Get West London, Andy Slaughter said: “This will be a huge relief to his friends, family and all those who have campaigned for this for many years.
"He was cleared for release in 2007 under President Bush and once again by Obama in 2009."
He added: "He has been held in appalling conditions, has been on several hunger strikes and has never seen the youngest of his four children.
"This is a good day for Shaker and his family."
"His release is welcome as his continued detention was unjustifiable.”
Labour's shadow chancellor and MP for Hayes John McDonnell had also shown opposition to the Aamer's imprisonment in the past, including a hunger strike campaigning for Mr Aamer's release two weeks ago.
Mr McDonnell, who chairs an All Party Parliamentary Group on Mr Aamer's case, said today he was 'breathing a heavy sigh of relief'.
He added: "Shaker was simply a man in the wrong place at the wrong time, a charity worker building wells in Afghanistan who was kidnapped, ransomed and falsely imprisoned.
"He has been cleared twice for release, never charged and no serious evidence has been presented against him."
He added: "I am grateful to the Prime Minister for his intervention in the past year, and the cross-party support we have received for his release.
"I hope that he now gets the full support he needs so that he’ll be able to settle back into society, and get on with the rest of his life."
Campaign coordinator of We Stand with Shaker Joanne MacInnes from Hammersmith was equally thrilled with the news.
Co-director Andy Worthington said: "We're delighted to hear that his long and unacceptable ordeal has come to an end.
"We hope he won't be detained by the British authorities on his return and gets the psychological and medical care that he needs to be able to resume his life with his family in London."
Timeline of events
The 46-year-old was one of the first detainees to be sent to the notorious prison camp in Cuba after he was picked up by bounty hunters in Afghanistan.
The Saudi citizen, a legal British resident, insisted he was innocent and had been working for a charity when he was caught in 2001.
But he was held without charge ever since his arrival at the US base in February 2002, where his lawyers claim he was tortured, beaten, deprived of sleep and held in solitary confinement.
The US confirmed last month it would release Mr Aamer but he remained incarcerated for another month thanks to diplomatic and technical wranglings.
Today Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed he had been released.
He said: "The Americans announced some weeks ago that they were going to release Shaker Aamer from Guantanamo and I can confirm that he is on his way back to the UK now and he will arrive in Britain later today."
Who is Shaker Aamer
1968
Mr Aamer was born in Saudi Arabia and grew up in Medina.
1985
He moved to America and studied in Georgia and Maryland before working as a translator for the US Army in the Gulf War.
1996
Mr Aamer was granted leave to remain in the UK after he moved to Battersea, south-west London, where he met his British wife Zin Siddique. The couple married the following year and have four children together.
2001
Mr Aamer was seized in Afghanistan, where he claims he was working for a charity, by bounty hunters who handed him over to US forces.
2002
He was transferred to Guantanamo on February 14, accused of aiding al Qaida.
2005
Mr Aamer lost half his body weight in a hunger strike after he became an unofficial spokesman for detainees in the prison.
2006
His lawyers filed a report alleging Mr Aamer had been held in solitary confinement for 360 days and was tortured by beatings, exposure to temperature extremes, and sleep deprivation.
2007
Mr Aamer was cleared for release to Saudi Arabia after former foreign secretary David Miliband requested he be freed along with four other British residents in the prison.
2009
He was deemed safe for release a second time by a US tribunal. Again he was not freed after America refused to let him return to the UK.
2010
Mr Aamer's 12-year-old daughter Johina wrote a letter to then-prime minister Gordon Brown asking for his freedom while hundreds of people took to the streets in London protesting against his imprisonment.
2012
A series of protests took place across England to mark the tenth anniversary of his detention in February
January 16, 2015
US president Barack Obama said he would "prioritise" his case after Prime Minister David Cameron raised Mr Aamer's plight in high-profile talks.
September 25, 2015
The US government formally notified the UK authorities that they would be returning Mr Aamer, although no date was set for his release.
October 30, 2015
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed Mr Aamer's release from Guantanamo Bay.
