Mr Mohamed was released earlier this year after seven years in US custody, including four in the camp at Guantanamo Photo: AFP/GETTY

US government officials said they were “not pleased” at a decision to reveal information surrounding the treatment of the British citizen by the CIA.

David Miliband, the British Foreign Secretary, said the Government was “deeply disappointed” by Friday’s High Court judgment and immediately announced an appeal.

Speaking at a press briefing in Washington DC, Ian Kelly, the US State Department spokesman, said a “confidential channel” should remain if intelligence sharing was to continue “to the fullest extent possible”.

Mr Miliband had told the court that publishing the secret intelligence could jeopardise British-US relations and lead to the American authorities to downgrade their intelligence-sharing with the UK.

Rejecting that argument, the court said there was “overwhelming” public interest in publication.

Mr Mohamed was released earlier this year after seven years in US custody, including four in the camp at Guantanamo.

He was detained in Pakistan in 2002 and accused by US intelligence agencies of working with the Taliban in Afghanistan. A British resident, he proclaims his innocence, and says any evidence against him was obtained through torture.

Mr Mohamed and his supporters say that ministers are trying to keep the intelligence material secret because it could reveal British intelligence agencies’ complicity in the torture Mr Mohamed says he suffered at the hands of foreign intelligence agencies.

The High Court ruling is the latest stage in a legal battle over a seven-paragraph summary of Mr Mohamed’s treatment while in detention.

The document was compiled for inclusion in a High Court judgment relating to Mr Mohamed’s case last year. But it was withheld from that judgement after the Government persuaded the judges that releasing it could undermine national security.

A group of media organisations then mounted a legal challenge to that decision.

The judges, Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones, agreed to consider the application after President Barack Obama has promised to close Guantanamo Bay and has already published detailed evidence of the treatment of some detainees there.

They dismissed Mr Miliband’s warnings over the consequences of publication and ordered the Government to release the material.

They said: “As the risk to national security, judged objectively on the evidence, is not a serious one, we should restore the redacted paragraphs to our first judgment.”

Announcing his intention to appeal, Mr Miliband said: “The Government is deeply disappointed by the judgment handed down today by the High Court which concludes that a summary of US intelligence material should be put into the public domain against their wishes. We will be appealing in the strongest possible terms.”

David Davis, the former Tory shadow home secretary who has raised Mr Mohamed’s case in the Commons, said ministers should abandon their appeal.

He said: “The British public have a right to know the judges’ assessment of the extent of complicity of the UK and US Intelligence services in torture, and to determine for themselves why the Government has tried for so long to cover up this assessment.”

US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said he supported Britain’s decision to appeal.

“We both have a stake in ensuring that this kind of intelligence sharing continues to the fullest extent possible.” he said, adding:

“We keep this information confidential because this information is important to protect our own citizens.”