Bandits Nabbed, Yacht Hostages Rescued in Somalian High-Seas Adventure

Pirates can claim UK asylum: THE Royal Navy, once the scourge of brigands on the high seas, has been told by the Foreign Office not to detain pirates because doing so may breach their human rights.

Piracy is a criminal offence against the law of nations triable anywhere. If the pirates cannot be handed over to some countries because of the way those countries treat criminals, they can be tried under English law.

The recent decision on selling arms to Saudi Arabia would suggest that if there is a prima facie case against captured pirates, the CPS will be obliged to prosecute them, irrespective of their human rights elsewhere. The same will apply to any pirates who claim asylum.

If this fact is made more widely known, it might discourage people from seeking to claim asylum.

Until recently, this was one of the crimes that still carried the death penalty even after it was removed from murder.

-- Dru Brooke-Taylor, Bristol

... There is no pride left in what was a very great country. No longer do I claim to be British - I claim to be Scottish as it lessens the embarassment a bit.

-- John Campbell, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

To our American friends...can you please invade us and install Mr Bush as Prime Minister or even Dictator....it couldn't be worse than the route we are taking.

-- chris, st ives, cornwall

Have we gone completely crazy? Thank God this country wasn't always run like this!

-- Gill, Southampton, what used to be England