Osama bin Laden's nine terrorist training camps have been destroyed and the military campaign in Afghanistan has severely depleted airfields and military garrisons, according to the British Defence Secretary, Mr Geoff Hoon.
As US and British military planners continued discussions about the extent of the involvement of British troops in a ground offensive, Mr Hoon told a Ministry of Defence briefing that British forces taking part in Exercise Saif Sareea in the Middle East could be retained to support operations. It is expected that an announcement on the detail of Britain's expanded role in the military campaign will be made within days, but Mr Hoon said no decision had yet been taken about which troops could be involved.
Defence sources have suggested up to 1,000 British troops, including two SAS squadrons, could be involved in Afghanistan. A Royal Navy source has been quoted saying it was "not beyond the wit of man" to expect some of the 22 British warships on exercise in the Middle East would remain in the region.
Mr Hoon said the US-led air strikes had "largely put out of action" Osama bin Laden's terrorist training camps and had "hit hard" nine Taliban airfields and 24 military garrisons. In a further sign that the deployment of British troops was imminent, he added: "We have achieved a third of the objectives, creating the right conditions for future operations in Afghanistan."
Earlier, the Leader of the House of Commons, Mr Robin Cook, told Middle Eastern journalists that bin Laden could ensure he was not killed during military action in Afghanistan by surrendering and standing trial.
At a briefing in Downing Street, Mr Cook also indicated the Taliban leadership could avoid a similar fate if it surrendered bin Laden. "Even now, if the Taliban were to agree it was not going to continue to shelter al-Qaeda and would surrender Osama bin Laden . . . to be brought to justice under due process of law, we could find a way forward."
Mr Cook said the military operation was not a campaign to kill bin Laden but "if he wants to make sure there is no such risk to him there is a simple way out. That is for him to come forward, offer himself so that we can bring him to trial in a fair court, where evidence could be brought forward openly."
In a reference to the CIA's assassination directive, Mr Cook said Mr Bush and Britain believed in "due process", and insisted the teachings of Islam and UN resolutions provided for the surrender of someone accused of serious terrorist offences.
"You do not need an extradition treaty in order to hand over somebody who is accused of an act of mass murder and terrorism of such an appalling kind as we saw in New York," he added.
Meanwhile, an Egyptian man was arrested on suspicion of being involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorist acts. Anti-terrorist branch officers arrested Mr Yasser al-Siri (38) at his home in west London, but the arrest was not being directly linked to the September 11th attacks on the US.