Planespotter 'had been Turkish guest'

The leader of the British planespotters imprisoned in a Greek jail on spying charges may have travelled to Turkey earlier this year as a guest of its armed forces.

Paul Coppin, owner of Touchdown Tours, which organised last month's ill-fated trip, is reported to have told Greek intelligence officials last week that he had travelled as an official guest to Turkey, Greece's arch-enemy.

The revelation, included in court papers, may be used by lawyers as evidence that Mr Coppin is more than a plane enthusiast. He is expected to claim he went to Turkey as a journalist and has no strong links with the country.

Mr Coppin has, meanwhile, criticised the British Government for its lack of assistance in his case.

"We have had a lot of words but no action," he told Radio 4's Today programme yesterday. "If there'd been some action we could be out of here."

Mr Coppin, 57, said that despite recent promises by the Greek authorities, the men in the group were still spread throughout the prison, with only one bed between them.

Mr Coppin's wife, Lesley, 51, was yesterday visited in jail by Richard Howitt, MEP. The only woman in the group, she is being held in Lorydallos prison near Athens, 56 miles away from her husband.