The new information came to light after the United States reviewed its records, Mr Miliband told parliament. Britain had previously said there was no evidence to suggest that CIA aircraft carrying prisoners stopped on its territory.

Speaking in Brussels, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the fact that the flights refuelled on a British overseas territory was 'a very serious issue'.

The United States has 'expressed regret' at the incidents, he told a press conference.

Mr Miliband said 'the detainees did not leave the plane' during the transfer in 2002 and the authorities in Washington said that prisoners 'had never been held' on the Indian Ocean territory, where there is a US air base.

Apologising that previous information given by ministers to parliament had been incorrect, Mr Miliband said he had spoken about the issue to his US counterpart, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

'We both agree that the mistakes made in these two cases are not acceptable and she shares my deep regret that this information has only just come to light,' he added.

'The House (of Commons) and the government will share deep disappointment at this news and at its late emergence. That disappointment is shared by our US allies.'

Mr Miliband said the new information was due to 'record errors' by the United States. One of the prisoners transferred through Diego Garcia is currently being held at the US-run prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The other was released.

Neither of the men was a British national or resident, he added.

'We fully accept that the US gave its earlier assurances in good faith,' Mr Miliband told lawmakers.

But he said he had asked officials to compile a list of flights where they have been alerted to concerns about rendition through Britain or overseas territories.

This will be sent to the US government with a request for a 'specific assurance' that none was used for rendition.

Britain has previously denied being involved in extraordinary rendition, whereby suspected extremists are covertly transferred to a third country or US-run detention facilities.

But Britain was named in a 2006 Council of Europe report as one of 14 European nations which had turned a 'blind eye' to the practice by allowing CIA flights to use their airspace or airfields.

The flights started after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington after which US forces helped overthrow the Taliban government in Afghanistan as it stepped up the hunt for Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. -- AFP