The British survey ship HMS Enterprise has arrived in Malta carrying 110 Britons evacuated from Libya including 30 children, 12 infants, four pregnant women and one elderly and sick person.

A small number of Irish and German workers were also on board.

The Enterprise was the second ship to evacuate workers and families from Libya to Malta. A Virtu catamaran on Saturday evacuated some 250 Hyundai workers from Tripoli. Most were Filipino and Indian.

Waiting on the quay to greet the families evacuated by HMS Enterprise was British High Commissioner Rob Luke. He thanked all those involved in the operation and said a number of Britons remained in Libya, although they did not necessarily want to leave. The UK authorities would keep all options open for their evacuation if necessary.

Mr Luke confirmed that the British embassy in Tripoli has suspended operations, adding that there was cross fire close close to it in the past few days.

The British Foreign Office said last week the embassy was being transferred to Tunisia.