Britain withdraws embassy families from Iran

Britain is withdrawing the families of embassy staff working in Iran as a result of the violence in the country, the Foreign Office said on Monday.

"The ongoing violence has had a significant impact on the families of our staff who have been unable to carry on their lives as normal," a Foreign Office spokesman said. "As a result, we are withdrawing dependents of embassy staff until the situation improves."

The decision follows a week of demonstrations on the streets of Tehran by protesters angry at a presidential election result which returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.