The seizing of a British special forces team in a bungled mission to contact Libyan rebels was due to a "serious misunderstanding", Foreign Secretary William Hague said Monday.
London was left red-faced by the attempt to put diplomats in contact with opposition forces in Benghazi at the weekend.
The team, reportedly made up of six soldiers from the elite Special Air Service
(SAS) and two diplomats, flew into Libya by helicopter and made their way to the eastern opposition-held city.
But they were rounded up by lightly armed rebels soon after they arrived, reports said.
The diplomats are believed to have been officers from the MI6 foreign intelligence service.
The mission angered Libyan opposition leaders who denied they had asked for any help and by late Sunday the team had been packed off to Malta on a British naval ship.
Hague told parliament that ministers and officials had been in touch with the rebel interim national council formed in Benghazi, who had "welcomed the idea of a British diplomatic mission to Libya".
The minister said he had authorised the dispatch of a small team, accompanied by "protection" because such engagement was "vitally important" to understanding the situation on the ground.
London was left red-faced by the attempt to put diplomats in contact with opposition forces in Benghazi at the weekend.
The team, reportedly made up of six soldiers from the elite Special Air Service (SAS) and two diplomats, flew into Libya by helicopter and made their way to the eastern opposition-held city.But they were rounded up by lightly armed rebels soon after they arrived, reports said.
The diplomats are believed to have been officers from the MI6 foreign intelligence service.
The mission angered Libyan opposition leaders who denied they had asked for any help and by late Sunday the team had been packed off to Malta on a British naval ship.
Hague told parliament that ministers and officials had been in touch with the rebel interim national council formed in Benghazi, who had "welcomed the idea of a British diplomatic mission to Libya".
The minister said he had authorised the dispatch of a small team, accompanied by "protection" because such engagement was "vitally important" to understanding the situation on the ground.
"They were withdrawn yesterday after a serious misunderstanding about their role leading to their temporary detention," Hague said
