Britain offers to protect war crimes witnesses

Britain is to offer protection to war crimes witnesses who could be risking their lives by testifying , the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal announced yesterday. The Government has "agreed to accept for relocation certain witnesses who appear before the international tribunal and may face danger because of such appearances," the UN court said in a brief statement.

The tribunal released no details of the agreement - the first of its kind - because it "concerns the safety and security of witnesses." The Foreign Office minister Tony Lloyd said the agreement "will enable witnesses who might otherwise have been reluctant to do so to come forward." -- AP, The Hague