Updated: Adds British Foreign Secretary's comments

A Maltese was among the 150 workers picked up in a dramatic desert rescue by RAF Hercules transport aircraft yesterday, the Prime Minister has confirmed.

The two Royal Air Force aircraft left from Malta in mid afternoon and landed in three remote desert locations south of Benghazi after landing strips were secured by local tribal leaders and oil rig workers. Some media are claiming that SAS soldiers were also involved.

British Foreign Minister William Hague this morning confirmed that no clearance for the operation was given by the Libyan authorities.

He told a TV interviewer:

"Well they didn’t give official permission for that, we tested that out the previous day whether they were prepared to cooperate with such flights and we didn’t get real cooperation. So we sent those flights in anyway yesterday.

" Of course there are risks attached to doing that and that is why we’re always reluctant to take those steps but we felt that was the only sure way to get those people out of the, out of the desert."

Peter Dingle from Lancashire was among those airlifted out in the military operation.

He told the BBC: "We found out early this morning that the Hercules was coming in but everything was being kept quiet," he told BBC Radio 5 live.

"We couldn't send e-mails out to any people or anything like that because obviously the media would find out that the British military was coming."

Dr Gonzi made his comment when he visited the Maltese government crisis coordination centre at the Auberge de Castille. The centre is headed by Godwin Grima, principal permanent secretary.