A British "small diplomatic team" who were being held in Benghazi after trying to "initiate contacts" with opposition rebels left Libya after experiencing "difficulties".

They have been reportedly transferred to HMS Cumberland, due in Malta tomorrow afternoon.

Britain Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement:

"I can confirm that a small British diplomatic team has been in Benghazi.

"The team went to Libya to initiate contacts with the opposition. They experienced difficulties, which have now been satisfactorily resolved. They have now left Libya."

The Libyan rebels' national council confirmed later today that they had refused to talk to the British delegation, who entered the country without prior arrangement, and had sent the team back to London.

"We do not know the nature of their mission. We refused to discuss anything with them due to the way they entered the country," spokesman Abdul Hafiz Ghoqa told reporters in the rebel stronghold Benghazi.

"Now we're trying to negotiate a way for them to go back home."

He said the men came into Libya by helicopter, landing in Suluk, a small town southwest of Benghazi.

Britain has referred to the arrested men as "a small diplomatic team" but Ghoqa said: "One person claims he is a diplomat and he has some guards accompanying him."

"Eight persons were arrested and it turns out that they carried British passports. The reason that they were arrested is that they came into the country unofficially and without any previous arrangement.

"Libya is an independent nation and we have our borders which we expect to be respected by everybody."

According to Sky and BBC news reports, the diplomats left Benghazi on board HMS Cumberland.