By DPA
Madrid : The Spanish secret service CNI mistook relatives of a top Pakistani politician for terrorists, prompting the British police to detain them in London, Spanish press reports said Wednesday.
The CNI informed Scotland Yard that six members of a dangerous radical cell were flying from Barcelona to London Jan 22 to launch attacks, the daily El Mundo quoted police sources as saying.
The warning followed the detention of 12 Pakistanis and two Indians in Barcelona on suspicion of planning attacks against the local transport network.
The British police detained on arrival the six Pakistanis who were handcuffed, taken to a high-security police station and questioned, according to El Mundo.
However, the detainees turned out to be relatives of Chaudry Sujaat Hussein, president of the Pakistan Muslim League, which supports President Pervez Musharraf, as well as members of the party.
They were flying to London to meet Musharraf, who was there at that time, Spanish police sources were quoted as saying.
When British police realised their mistake, they put the detainees on a plane to Pakistan, and the British government apologized to the Pakistani authorities.
The six have lodged a complaint at the British embassy in Pakistan and may take legal action against the CNI and Scotland Yard, according to Spanish reports.
Local reports also said that allegations that the 14 people detained in Barcelona were preparing a major attack have not yet been confirmed.