The Foreign Office has said there is "no evidence" to suggest those responsible for attacks carried out in Mumbai are British.

Reports from India have suggested that UK-born Muslims were involved in carrying out the massacre which has claimed the lives of least 195 people.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he has spoken to India's Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, who "at no point" suggested there was evidence of any terrorist of British origins.

Speaking to the Progress Conference in central London, Mr Brown added: "A great multi-faithed democracy has been laid low by terrorists. It raises huge questions about how the world addresses violent extremism."

The siege at the Taj Mahal hotel ended in the early hours of Saturday bringing to a halt three days of terror in the city.

Reports had said seven of the gunmen had British links and quoted Indian sources claiming that suspects from Leeds, Hartlepool and Bradford as well as British-born Pakistanis were involved.

Vilasrao Deshmukh, the chief minister of Maharashtra state - of which Mumbai is the capital - was reported to have said that two Pakistanis of British descent were among eight terrorists arrested during sieges.

But a spokesman for the Foreign Office said last night: "We have spoken to Indian authorities at a high level and they have said that there is no evidence that any of the terrorists either captured or dead are British."

Referring to the comments reportedly made by Mr Deshmukh, he said: "He said no such thing either publicly or privately."

Scotland Yard detectives are flying to Mumbai to help with the investigation and a Foreign Office rapid deployment team, including members of the British Red Cross specialising in trauma, has also gone to provide assistance.

Officers are also meeting Britons returning on flights to London's Heathrow Airport and handing out leaflets appealing for information.

A wealthy British businessman, Andreas Liveras, was killed and eight other Britons injured in the wave of terror which swept India's financial capital. Among them was 29-year-old Harnish Patel, from Havant, Hampshire, who was shot in the ribs and legs.

His father, Manashvi Patel, 56, said his son was in shock and could not yet walk following an operation.

India's foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee earlier told reporters preliminary information suggests "some elements in Pakistan are responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks".

Pakistan's foreign minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the country's government and institutions are "unanimous that Pakistan is not involved in this ghastly act".

Six Americans have been confirmed dead in the attacks and tonight President George Bush pledged the "full support of the US" to investigate the attacks and bring the guilty to justice. He added: "Terror will not have the final word."

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