Negotiations ongoing over British sailors

Negotiations between Britain and Iran are continuing after 15 British navy personnel were seized by Iran at the end of last week.

The foreign office minister Lord Triesman said there was a series of ongoing meetings and that these kind of meetings are "difficult".

But Britain's position remains clear and it has been reiterated by Tony Blair who described the act as "unjustified".

He said: "There is no doubt at all that these people were taken from a boat in Iraqi waters.

"It is simply not true that they went into Iranian territorial waters, and I hope the Iranian government understands how fundamental an issue this is for us.

"We have certainly sent the message back to them very clearly indeed. They should not be under any doubt at all about how seriously we regard this act, which is unjustified and wrong."

Lord Triesman insisted Britain's position was that the personnel should be released immediately.

He said: "We've been insisting that they should be released immediately - there is no reason to hold them - that they should be released unharmed and that we should be in a position to assure their families that they are in good health and that they're safe. And that is our aim."