THE Foreign Office has been criticised for doing "very little" to help a Briton facing the death penalty in Ethiopia despite knowing that his conviction is baseless, it has been claimed.

Political activist Andargachew Tsige, 59, from London, has been detained in the country since his removal from an airport in Yemen in June last year and is facing execution over convictions for terrorist planning.

Campaigners claim emails show the Government believes there is insufficient evidence to connect him to any terrorist activity and knew immediately that Ethiopia's actions were unlawful.

Maya Foa, director of the death penalty team at campaign group Reprieve, said the Foreign Office, however, had done "very little" about the case.

"This is the problem," she said. "What they need to be asking for is for this man, who has been unlawfully rendered, unlawfully held, to be released."

A Foreign Office spokesman said that there was "deep concern" over Tsige's detention and that pressure was being put on the Ethiopian authorities to follow due legal process.

He added: "We strongly oppose the death penalty in his as in all cases."