AN MP will today accuse British governments of covering up events which led to a Hampshire man being held hostage by Iraq during the first Gulf War.

Clive Earthy, from Alresford, was captured in August 1990 when British Airways Flight 149 landed in Kuwait as Saddam Hussein's invading army was surrounding the airport.

BA worker Mr Earthy, who was in charge of the flight's cabin service, endured nearly five months as a prisoner of the Iraqi army, during which time he was used as a human shield, deprived of regular meals and threatened with death.

Today Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker will tell the House of Commons that the plane, carrying a total of 392 passengers, was forced to land because there was a group of special forces personnel on board which the UK Government wanted to smuggle into the country.

Mr Baker said he had signed affidavits from two members of the special forces team confirming they were on British Airways Flight 149.

The Government, and British Airways, have always maintained there were no special forces personnel on the plane.

However, unconfirmed reports have alleged that the plane, which had been due to make a scheduled refuelling stop at Kuwait International Airport, was a "Trojan horse" used to land the covert troops.

Mr Baker said he now had "conclusive proof" to confirm the claims and contradict the Government's account.

He said: "The crew and passengers who were on that flight suffered enormously whilst in captivity and deserve to know the truth.

"Sadly, the response of successive governments, including this one, has been to sweep everything under the carpet.

"I will be demanding that the Prime Minister or another senior minister meet with representatives of the crew and passengers, that the file on Operation Sandcastle now be released, with the deletion of the sensitive security information, and that an inquiry be begun into this whole episode."

Mr Baker has secured a short debate in the Commons today when he will make the allegations in full, and a minister will respond.

Last October Mr Earthy, now in his 60s, told the Daily Echo that he clearly remembered witnessing eight or nine "healthy looking" young men board his aircraft "at the last second" - apparently without appropriate visas. The men were the only passengers to leave the flight without being captured. He said of his experiences: "We had the fear of God put up us all. We were split up from our families - husbands, wives and children had no idea where we were."

The hostages were eventually released and Mr Earthy returned home in December that year.

Mr Earthy, who has three children, including a daughter in Chandler's Ford, and four grandchildren, vowed to fight for compensation on behalf of his former employer's customers.