REPORTS that British resident Shaker Aamer has been beaten yet again as he languishes in legal limbo make his release from Guantanamo Bay all the more urgent.

Mr Aamer was apparently one of several inmates of the US concentration camp subjected to physical abuse in a new crackdown on detainees.

The beating in his case reportedly occurred when a medical team “wanted to draw blood,” which he presumably resisted as part of his hunger strike in protest at continued detention without charge.

That detention — which has now lasted 12 years, six months and 14 days — disgraces the United States and its so-called “war on terror.”

Not only has Mr Aamer never been formally charged with anything, let alone tried.

The George W Bush administration responsible for his arrest actually admitted it had no evidence against him. He has twice been cleared for release by the Bush and Obama administrations. The latter, of course, is supposedly committed to closing Guantanamo.

Leaked files stating that US officials “believed” he had links to people involved in terrorist activity are not worth the paper they are printed on — they would never stand up in court, which is why he has never faced trial.

Over the long years since his arrest in 2001 he has repeatedly been held in solitary confinement. He has been tortured.

Now, on hunger strike, he is regularly force-fed. His lawyers say he is slowly dying as a result of systematic ill treatment and physical and mental abuse.

The British government claims to want him released. But we have seen no evidence that pressure has been put on Washington to do so.

The fear is that Mr Aamer has seen too much — what he could reveal about the sadism and brutality of his captors is what keeps him behind bars.

It’s certainly difficult to see why else US authorities are so determined to hang onto a man they admit themselves is no threat.

Schools apartheid

THE domination of Britain’s ruling circles by the tiny minority of citizens who have been privately educated, as revealed by the Social Mobility and Poverty Commission, is hardly surprising.

It’s a scandal that seven in 10 top judges, six in 10 army officers and most top diplomats and civil servants went to fee-paying schools — it explodes the myth that we are “all in it together” and illustrates how the anti-democratic influence of a privileged elite pervades society.

But then, if shelling out thousands upon thousands of pounds every term to educate your children didn’t put them at an unfair advantage, even the wealthy wouldn’t bother doing it.

“Elitism so stark it could be called social engineering,” which the commission says it found, simply describes the way the ruling class ensures it continues to rule. That’s why the “national effort” it calls for to improve social mobility is unlikely to help. 

Social mobility in Britain has actually gone backwards since the 1970s — which reflects the massive increase in inequality since Thatcherite neoliberalism became the creed of governments of both parties.

While we have capitalism there will be inequality and while there is inequality the rich will make sure their children have the best start in life.

That isn’t to say we can’t do anything about it. A ban on fee-paying schools or a bar on those who attend them from applying for university would make an immediate difference and help redress the balance towards the working class. Sadly, Labour is as far from adopting such a progressive stance as are the Con-Dems themselves.