Both The Times and the The Express allege that security chiefs knew Islamic extremists were planning an attack on a British target but failed to alert British diplomats until four hostages had been killed in a shoot-out.

The Times says the freed hostages who arrived back at Gatwick airport on Friday "might have been spared their ordeal had British officials been told of the plot".

The paper says the "security lapse" will fuel the row over the rescue operation.

"If we had known about the threat of course we would have steered tour groups well away from the areas which are known to be the hunting grounds of Islamic fundamentalist groups," a diplomatic source is quoted as saying.

'Difficulty in establishing the facts'

The Express further alleges that British interests were being targeted and included a threat to bomb the British consulate and UN offices in Aden.

A diplomatic source is quoted in the Express as saying: "We only heard that the Yemeni authorities had received this very serious threat three days ago. They received it five days before the hostages were kidnapped."

The Daily Telegraph says details of the source of the warning are sketchy but "the Yemeni authorities indicated that it followed the arrest of an Islamic militant".

The Guardian also carries a critical report of events in Yemen and the confusion surrounding the rescue attempt.

It quotes a UK Foreign Office spokeswoman who says: "There are a number of points where we have concerns with the Yemeni Government's handling of the whole incident.

"We have had some difficulty in establishing the facts of what actually happened. There is a discrepancy and some confusion between the government of Yemen's version of events and those given by the survivors."

Under the headline 'Bungling rescuer knew Brits were terror gang target', the Sun newspaper also quotes sources who say the Yemenis knew of the threat and failed to tell British embassy officials.

"Had the warning been passed to the Foreign Office on time the slaughter might have been avoided," the paper says.