UK 'ready to talk to Hezbollah'

Bill Rammell, Britain's foreign office minister, told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday: "We have reconsidered the position ... in light of more positive developments within Lebanon ... and for that reason we have explored establishing contacts."

Britain has had no formal contact with Hezbollah since 2005, and last July it added the group's military wing to its list of banned organisations.

Hezbollah became part of a Lebanese national unity government last year after months of wrangling with their opponents in the March 14 political bloc.

'Discussions under way'

A "first meeting" has already taken place between a delegation from Britain's Conservative opposition party and a Lebanese parliamentary committee that included one Hezbollah member, Rammell said.

"We will look to have further discussions and our overriding objective within that is to press Hezbollah to play a more constructive role, particularly to move away from violence," he said.

But he said the change in policy would not pave the way for talks with the Palestinian faction Hamas, saying: "I don't think there's an analogy."