UK demands meeting over 'spies'

The four have now been transferred to Belgrade

The Foreign Office is demanding the Yugoslav government explains why two British policemen are facing charges of terrorism and spying after being arrested in Montenegro last week.

An official who represents the Yugoslav government in London, Rade Dobrac, will meet Foreign Office Minister Keith Vaz on Tuesday to discuss what charges John Yore and Adrian Pragnell are facing.

The Britons, along with fellow Canadian captives Shaun Going and Liam Hall, were brought under heavy security to appear before a military court in the federal capital, Podgorica on Tuesday.

They have now been flown in a military plane to the Yugoslav capital, Belgrade, where the military prosecutor will accuse them of committing acts of terrorism, bringing in weapons and violating national sovereignty.

It is not known if they have been given the chance to formally deny the charges.

If tried and found guilty the men face the prospect of up to 15 years in prison.

Isolation

A Montenegrin news agency said the four would have the opportunity to use all legal means of defence.

Arrested: Adrian Pragnell

Mr Vaz is expected to ask Mr Dobrac that British consular staff have immediate access to the men.

Mr Yore, 31, from the Cambridgeshire Police,, and Mr Pragnell, 41, from the Hampshire force, had been working in Kosovo as part of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), training the Kosovan police force.

The pair said they had been holidaying in Montenegro when they were arrested with Mr Going and Mr Hall.

'No complaints'

Electric cables, maps and photographs of explosions were allegedly found in their car, and they were accused of espionage.

The claim has been strenuously denied by the United Nations and the European security organisation, the OSCE.

Both organisations have demanded the men's release.

The prisoners have not been allowed to see any British or Canadian diplomats or to make any telephone calls home.

But their lawyer, who said he was in contact with the men, said they had no complaints about their treatment or their accommodation.

Diplomacy

The British honorary consul in Podgorica, Dragan Vukdelic, said the Yugoslav army had yet to respond to requests from Britain and Canada for access to the detainees.

The Foreign Office had hoped to hold talks with the United Nations and the Foreign Ministry in Belgrade on Monday, but Yugoslavs ignored an appeal for discussions by a UN liaison officer.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We are in urgent touch with our international partners.

"The foreign secretary over the weekend contacted the UN and OSCE. They too are pressing the Serbs to release the men."

Dutch officials are also trying to get access to four of their nationals arrested in Serbia about three weeks ago accused of plotting to kidnap Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.