The British Defence Secretary, George Robertson, has said that NATO troops will escort Kosovo refugees back to their homes with or without the agreement of the Serbian authorities.

He told the BBC that extra troops needed for the job would begin moving to the region soon: it would not be necessary to sign a peace agreement first.

The foreign secretary, Robin Cook, said yesterday that planning was in hand to send in NATO troops without a peace agreement.

But, the United States has said that a force of fifty-thousand troops it wants to deploy on Kosovo'ds borders would only go in after a peace deal with Belgrade.