Thousands of British troops serving with the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo are reported to be sleeping in tents and using outdoor latrines because prefabricated barracks that were ordered several months ago have not been completed.

The British Ministry of Defence has said that some four-thousand servicemen and women will have to stay in the tents until at least mid-February, in spite of sub-zero winter temperatures in Kosovo.

A contract for mobile barracks was signed last July: the company concerned, Hunting Engineering, says the project has been delayed by problems with transport, materials and sub-contractors.

An opposition member of parliament, Robert Key, has demanded immediate action to improve the comfort of the troops and for Hunting Engineering to be penalised, if that is possible under its government contract.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service