Whitehall has said the SAS mission to Libya was personally authorised by British foreign secretary William Hague.
Ministers were counting the cost today of the SAS mission to Libya that saw the troops captured by rebels and a diplomat’s plea for their release broadcast on state television.
The eight-strong team - thought to have included an MI6 officer - had been sent to the country in a bid to foster links with opponents of Col Muammar Gadafy.
But the plans appear to have gone awry early on when their helicopter sparked an alert by landing near Benghazi without informing rebel commanders.
The group was reportedly detained after a search of their bags revealed ammunition, explosives, maps and fake passports.
A telephone call from the UK ambassador to Libya Richard Northern to a rebel leader trying to clear up the “misunderstanding” was then seemingly intercepted and broadcast.
The team was finally freed and left Libya last night on board HMS Cumberland.
The prime minister's spokesman said the decision to send the "diplomatic team" to Benghazi was taken by Mr Hague. "The normal way is that the foreign secretary takes these decisions," the spokesman told a daily Westminster media briefing. "But the foreign secretary and prime minister have been discussing these issues over the last week. There have been daily meetings of Cobra and a number of National Security Council meetings."
The spokesman confirmed that the Cobra emergency planning committee met this morning under the chairmanship of national security adviser Sir Peter Ricketts and is expected to meet regularly over the coming week. "We have been very clear over recent days that we were seeking to establish contacts with opposition figures and we think that is the right thing to do. We will continue that, as the foreign secretary made clear last night.
"We have confirmed that a diplomatic team was in Benghazi and it is our intention to send a further team in due course. Our objective there is very clear - to strengthen and deepen dialogue with opposition figures and understand better the situation on the ground."
Meanwhile, Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, spokesman for the rebels’ provisional transitional national council, said: “The reason they were arrested is because they came into the country unofficially without previous arrangement with Libyan officials.
“Libya is an independent nation, and we have our borders that we expect to be respected.”
He added that there was “no crisis” between the council and Britain and that anti-Gadafy forces were “more than willing” to talk to any delegation sent “in a legitimate way”.
Apart from the damage to Britain’s reputation, there is speculation that the incident could hand Col Gadafy a propaganda victory by adding weight to his claims of “colonial” influences in the unrest.
In a statement, Mr Hague said: “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.
“We intend, in consultation with the opposition, to send a further team to strengthen our dialogue in due course. This diplomatic effort is part of the UK’s wider work on Libya, including our ongoing humanitarian support.”
PA