Belgium says it's determined to prevent the release of the former Chilean military ruler, General Augusto Pinochet, who's detained in Britain.

The Belgian foreign minister, Louis Michel, said he was ready to take the fight to the highest British court, the House of Lords.

British judges yesterday ruled that Belgium and six human rights groups can challenge a proposal to set the General free after British doctors had said he was medically unfit to stand trial.

Correspondents say this opens the way for possible new and lengthy legal wrangling, which could delay any decision on returning the General to Chile by weeks or even months.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service