UK silent on report Libyan rebels have seized British troops

"Well, I can confirm that a small, British diplomatic team is in Benghazi. We are in touch with them but it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on that for reasons I'm quite sure you understand," he told the BBC.The Sunday Times reported that Libyan rebels had captured a British special forces unit in the east of the country after a secret diplomatic mission to make contact with opposition leaders backfired.

The team, understood to number up to eight SAS soldiers, were intercepted as they escorted a junior diplomat through rebel-held territory, the newspaper said.

The SAS intervention apparently angered Libyan opposition figures, who ordered the soldiers locked up on a military base, according to the Sunday Times.

Citing Libyan sources, the Sunday Times said the special forces troops were taken by rebels to Benghazi, Libya's second largest city and epicentre of the insurrection, and hauled before one of its most senior politicians for questioning.

Britain's defence minister also told the BBC that there was no plan to use British military ground forces in Libya, where Muammar Gaddafi faces a revolt against his 41-year rule, but said the British government was working to keep up with the fast-changing developments in the country.

"It is a very difficult situation to be able to understand in detail. There are a number of different opposition groups to Colonel Gaddafi in Libya, they do seem relatively disparate, we want to clearly understand what the dynamic is there, because we want to be able to work with them to ensure the demise of the Gaddafi regime, to see a transition to greater stability in Libya and ultimately to more representative government," Fox said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said last Tuesday (March 1) that the government was trying to step up contact with opposition forces in Benghazi "so we can get to know them better, what their intentions are".