France is said to be deploying Tigre and Gazelle helicopters No decision has been made on whether to deploy UK Apache helicopters to Libya, the government has said, contradicting claims by a French minister.French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said on Monday that Britain would follow France in using attack helicopters against Col Gaddafi.
But UK defence minister Nick Harvey contradicted Mr Longuet's claim.
His clarification came after Labour tabled an urgent question about the reported "escalation" of the mission.
Mr Longuet told reporters at an EU meeting on Monday: "The British, who have assets similar to ours, will also commit. The sooner the better is what the British think."
But Mr Harvey told the Commons: "My understanding is that the French have indeed taken a decision to deploy their attack helicopters in Libya.
"I state again for the avoidance of all doubt: no such decision has been taken by the United Kingdom.
'Tactical shift'
"It is an option we are considering and there is absolutely no sense in which it is true to say that we have kept Parliament in the dark about a decision."
The use of helicopters would not represent an escalation of the mission, he insisted, but only a "tactical shift" to improve the ability to strike moving targets more precisely.
BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said the UK's Apache attack helicopters could deploy from HMS Ocean, the Royal Navy's largest warship.
Experts say the helicopters are able to identity targets quickly, but they are more vulnerable than the strike aircraft.
Nato jets have been targeting Col Gaddafi's military infrastructure, but have been unable to stop the fighting on the ground.
Late on Monday, several massive explosions were heard in the capital, Tripoli, including close to Col Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound.
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