The Greek foreign minister George Papandreou has said the 12 British citizens being detained in Greece as spies will be freed soon.

But the justice minister, Philippos Petsalnikos told a visiting British Euro MP that there was serious evidence against the group.

The Greek government is speaking with several different voices about what's to happen to the British plane spotters.

But later, the British Euro MP Richard Howitt, said the Justice Minister had told him the intelligence services had additional but undisclosed evidence against the 12, and that Greek national security had indeed been breeched.

Spy charges

This was reinforced in a briefing from the Information Minister, who told reporters there would be no intervention to speed the legal process.

Defence lawyers hope that a three judge panel will meet no later than Wednesday and will decide not to prosecute the British group on charges of espionage.

That would allow them to leave the tough maximum security jails they've been held in for almost three weeks.

However, the dissonance within the Greek Government gives little encouragement to the planespotters' hopes of freedom.