AS in so many other cases (Saudi nurses, Louise Woodward to name but two) the barrage of 'release them' rhetoric was entirely predictable. That said, has anyone anywhere looked at a map of Greece and its surrounding area lately?

Greece is bordered to its north by Macedonia (mega world trouble spot); to the north-west by Albania (chronically poverty stricken and unstable); to the east by Turkey (historically antagonistic); and to the seas in the south-west by Cyprus (ethnic tinderbox). Small wonder the Greeks are jumpy.

Stir into this a generous helping of post-September 11 fear, and this whole incident was a mess looking for somewhere to happen. The British Foreign Office surely should be aware of this and issue guidance accordingly.

That said, the detainees may well be innocent of any crime, but to appear at an airbase civil or military armed with notepads and cameras in this environment is daft.

The detainees must accept a portion of the responsibility for the situation they find themselves in. However, their case should be dealt with expediently and in line with the European Human Rights Act.

They may be guilty of stupidity but that isn't yet a crime. If it were, 80 per cent of the population would be behind bars.

Graham Horne,

Beech Avenue,

Bishopthorpe, York.

Updated: 10:44 Monday, December 03, 2001