Britain says will jail Liberia's Taylor if guilty

LONDON - Britain promised on Thursday to jail Liberia's Charles Taylor if he is convicted of war crimes, paving the way for the West African country's former president to be tried in a Dutch court.

"I was delighted to be able to respond positively to the request of the United Nations Secretary General, that, should he be convicted, Charles Taylor serve his sentence in the UK," British Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett said.

She said in a statement that his presence in Sierra Leone remains a threat to peace and Britain wanted to demonstrate his commitment to international justice.

Taylor, a former teacher who became one Africa's most feared warlords, is awaiting trial at a United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal in the capital of Sierra Leone, a former British colony and Liberia's neighbour.

He faces 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for backing Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front rebels, who sent drugged child soldiers into battle and mutilated and raped civilians during the brutal conflict.

The UN-backed court had asked the Netherlands to hold the trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague due to security concerns but needed a third country to volunteer to be his jailer.

Britain's announcement clears the way for a UN Security Council resolution authorising Taylor's transfer to The Hague.

- REUTERS