Extradited Briton's 'Barbaric' Days In Jail

British businessman Christopher Tappin has said he felt himself "slipping away" after suffering "barbaric" treatment in a US jail.

Mr Tappin was extradited to the US on arms dealing charges in February.

In an interview with The Times, he says he spent 10 "barbaric" days in solitary confinement.

He added that he was deprived of food and access to the British consul in the Otero County detention centre in New Mexico, despite having yet to stand trial.

Mr Tappin, from Orpington, Kent, was freed on bail on Wednesday after his family paid $50,000 dollars of a $1m bond.

He told the newspaper there had been a "presumption of guilt from the very beginning" by authorities.

"Psychologically I felt myself slipping away...I can't tell you how difficult it was," he said. "They were mentally excruciating days."

The 65-year-old also described how after being freed from solitary confinement he was kept in a cell with other inmates, all requiring protection from the rest of the prison population.

But he said he watched six of them fight so viciously on the first day that two were given solitary confinement.

Mr Tappin befriended a fellow inmate, a 65-year-old former judge called Luther Jones, who was convicted of corruption.

The two played chess and gin rummy, sharing 23 hours a day together in their cell.

They would be allowed three visits to the canteen a day, but given only three minutes to eat.

Mr Tappin told The Times that they would trade food to persuade other inmates to let them watch the news.

His family said they were planning to visit him in Texas, where he must stay, as soon as possible.

Speaking after the judge set the terms of his release, Mr Tappin's wife Elaine said she was "grateful for the judge's humanity", adding "we are making arrangements to visit him as soon as we can".

Mr Tappin, who ran a freight forwarding company, denies selling batteries for surface-to-air missiles to Iran.

He faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted at his trial in El Paso, Texas.

His extradition follows an investigation which began in 2005 when US agents asked technology providers about buyers who might have raised suspicions.

Those customers were then approached by undercover companies set up by government agencies.