A CHELTENHAM man has been arrested in Kenya while working for a private intelligence firm.

Niall Young, 34, was arrested in Mombasa on September 22 along with Nick Cryne, 30, from Manchester and Ben Hope, 27, from Birmingham.

It is understood they were arrested on suspicion of carrying out terrorist activities.

However the company they were working for, Intelligere, said today they had been working legitimately in Kenya. It is understood they were were trailing two company executives alleged to have been swapping company secrets.

Intelligere, a firm which offers corporate investigation services, said the group formed a three-man team and had been tasked with tracking the pair.

Gary Lincoln-Hope, chief executive of Intelligere, said: “We have spent the weekend in contact with the British Embassy in Kenya and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

“They have been tremendously helpful.

“We hope to see our three employees released from jail tomorrow.

“Their activities conducted prior to being arrested and put in jail were wholly legal. They are not linked to terrorism."

Cryne, from Manchester, Young, from Cheltenham, and Hope, from Birmingham, are due to appear in court in Kenya.

Intelligere is a division of the XFOR Group which handles international corporate intelligence operations.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are aware that a number of British nationals were arrested in Mombasa, Kenya, on September 22. We are providing consular assistance to them.”

Mr Lincoln-Hope said: "They have been largely incommunicado however we have local legal support in place and we are monitoring the situation very carefully."

He said he was in contact with the British Consulate and that he understood the men were "being handled appropriately."

He added Mr Young had been working for Intelligere for five years.

Intelligere's website says the company offers 'international intelligence gathering to support high value, high risk decision making.'