Archbishop Desmond Tutu has branded the Guantanamo Bay prison camp a disgrace.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner yesterday compared the legal situation surrounding the detention centre to South Africa's apartheid system.

He was speaking following allegations by British detainee Moazzam Begg that he had been tortured at the US naval base on Cuba.

The archbishop was about to appear on stage in New York in a play about the suffering of Britains held at Guantanamo.

"It is a total disgrace," he said. "They're using the very same sort of arrangements that were being used by the apartheid government in South Africa."

Speaking about the play, he said: "I hope that this will help to put this particular issue out to the public, so the people can say 'is this what we want to support? Is this something that can be done in my name and our name?'."

The archbishop insisted that in democracies the rule of law must apply to all people.

He also warned of the dangers of branding people as terrorists.

"Be very careful about your designations," he said. "Nelson Mandela was called a terrorist."

Archbishop Tutu, 73, was playing the part of a judge in Guantanamo: Honour Bound To Defend Freedom in two performances.

Earlier this year, Archbishop Tutu signed a petition on behalf of the families of Guantanamo prisoners.