When HMS Cumberland docked at Grand Harbour yesterday afternoon there was no sight of the six SAS soldiers and a UK diplomat who were released after having been detained by Libyan rebels near Benghazi.

When contacted in the morning, a British Ministry of Defence spokesman would not confirm the group, which had been deployed to Libya to make contact with the anti-regime forces, were on board the vessel, as reported by Sky News and BBC on Sunday.

He was quick to specify, however, that the media “will not have any contact whatsoever with them”. The spokesman would neither confirm reports that a helicopter had picked up the six soldiers and the diplomat before the Cumberland reached Malta and took them directly to the airport to fly them out.

The men were captured just outside Benghazi by rebel forces.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague confirmed in the House of Commons less than three hours after HMS Cumberland sailed into Malta the “British diplomatic team” had been freed and had left Benghazi, saying they had “experienced difficulties”. He said other diplomats would be sent to Libya to “strengthen dialogue” with rebel leaders.

HMS Cumberland brought over a group of 29 British, German and Irish nationals who were evacuated from Benghazi. It left the Libyan city on Sunday and arrived at 1.59 p.m. yesterday.

The group, which included families with children, were ushered to a waiting coach and driven away. One man waved the victory sign as he was leaving the warship.