Stansted asylum cases rejected

Hijack: Hostages spent several days on the jet

Four Afghan asylum seekers who arrived in Britain on the hijacked plane to Stansted, have lost their appeals against being sent home.

Three men and a woman, along with 27 other asylum seekers from the jet, said they would be persecuted by the hardline Taleban government if they are returned to Afghanistan.

But Judge Hubert Dunn on the Immigration Appellate Authority panel did not accept that they would "never get out of the airport" if they return.

He described a former medical student's claim as "all but non-existent" and said a second man had given "improbable evidence" and "admitted telling lies". The asylum seekers have not been named.

The 31-strong group appealed against Home Secretary Jack Straw's decision not to grant them political asylum after they arrived on board the aircraft in February.

The remaining cases will be heard over the next two days and those denied asylum will have 10 days to lodge a final appeal.

Hijacked

The home secretary has said that the applications for asylum were "opportunistic" and that they should be returned to Afghanistan.

Fourteen men commandeered the aircraft in February 1999, which was on an internal flight in Afghanistan. They diverted it first to Moscow and finally to Stansted airport.

After a tense stand-off, the hijackers and 170 hostages left the plane.

The hijackers were arrested and more than 70 passengers have since returned home to Afghanistan.