Three Britons held by Taliban secret police

THREE British men are being held by Taliban secret police in Afghanistan, it emerged last night.

- Tony Whitfield

Charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53 and an unnamed man, who manages a hotel for aid workers in Kabul, have been detained since early January.

"Danger tourist" Miles Routledge, 23, who had to be evacuated when the Islamic fundamentalists seized power in 2021, was also said to be in captivity after returning to the country.

Mr Routledge, a former Loughborough University physics student, had recently posted videos of him firing assault weapons with members of the Taliban.

Married father Mr Cornwell, from Middlesbrough, had been in Afghanistan for 11 months working as a medic for Iqarus International, which provides free health care to local people.

He was arrested in a raid at his hotel by officers from the General Directorate of Intelligence on January 11.