No Bail For Briton On Arms Dealing Charges

The wife of a retired British businessman accused of arms dealing has described a US judge's decision to refuse him bail as an "outrage".

Christopher Tappin's wife Elaine said the move to remand her 65-year-old husband in custody was "heartbreaking".

Judge Robert Castaneda ruled Tappin must remain in custody after US prosecutors told the federal court in El Paso, Texas, he may be a "danger to the community" if released.

The judge agreed measures could be imposed to ensure Tappin is monitored if released, but he said a discrepancy in the Briton's financial statement led to him being denied bail.

Tappin, who lost his two-year battle against extradition to America in February , denies attempting to sell batteries for surface-to-air missiles which were to be shipped from the US to Tehran via the Netherlands.

Mrs Tappin, 62, of Orpington, Kent, said: "This is an outrage. God only knows how he'll bear up. It's heartbreaking.

"He's a man of his word and is certainly not at risk of fleeing - where would he go? He doesn't have his passport or access to money.

"Why has the British Government allowed him to be incarcerated in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day before he's even been tried?"

Tappin has been held at the Otero County detention centre in New Mexico since he was extradited to America .

In a brief telephone conversation on Monday night, he told his wife he was shackled and confined in a cage for five hours before his bail hearing on Friday , a family spokeswoman said.

Daryl Fields, a spokesman for the US Attorney's office in the western district of Texas, said Tappin was denied bail because he "posed a flight risk".

His trial will take place before US District Judge David Briones in El Paso, but no date has been set.