Any Britons remaining in the Libyan capital Tripoli have been urged to head for the airport and get on the final Government-chartered rescue flight as the repression of anti-regime protests intensifies.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said it was "very important" for anyone still caught up in the violent chaos to get on board if possible - as some of those landing back in the UK on Friday night described the violence as a "living hell".

Mr Hague also insisted that "a lot of work" was under way on plans to extract up to 170 UK oil workers stranded in remote and highly vulnerable desert locations across the North African state.

"There are now very few British nationals remaining in Tripoli. It's very important that those that remain go to the airport, that they do so at first light," he said.

Britain is pushing for an arms embargo, a travel ban and asset freeze and a war crimes investigation into the crackdown on demonstrators which appears to be reaching new heights of brutality.