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20 February 2011
Last updated at 14:15 ET
Britons in eastern Libya are being helped to reach a "place of safety" amid continued unrest in the country, according to the Foreign Office (FCO).
The FCO, which refused to be drawn on evacuation plans, is in touch with about 50 Britons in that part of Libya.
The foreign secretary has expressed the UK's "grave concern" to the Libyan leader's son about violence there.
At least 173 people have been killed in Libya since demonstrations began on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said.
Earlier, William Hague spoke to Col Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "The foreign secretary made clear the UK's grave concern at the escalation in violence.
"He expressed alarm at reports of large numbers of people being killed or attacked by Libyan security forces."
Mr Hague reportedly said that the Libyan government's actions were "unacceptable" and "strongly encouraged the Libyan government to embark on dialogue and implement reforms".
Meanwhile, Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, has also commented on the escalation of violence.
Travel advice
He said: "We could be seeing a potentially historic shift in power in the region between government and the governed, and Britain should be doing all it can to support restraint, human rights and democratic reforms."
The FCO advises against any non-essential travel outside the capital Tripoli.
There were about 3,500 British citizens resident in Libya, mostly in Tripoli, although many are thought to have left.
Embassy staff and their families are still there, although that could change if travel advice for all citizens is amended.
A FCO spokeswoman said the situation in Libya was "fast moving" and travel advice was being updated as necessary.
Meanwhile, the EU's foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton has said she is "really worried" about what is happening in Libya.
"We have been urging restraint and it is important to continue to do so. It is very, very important that the violence stops," she said.
"It is very important that people can have their voices heard and that's what we'll be calling for," she added.
The comments came after a spokesman for the Hungarian Presidency of the European Council said Libya had informed European ambassadors in Tripoli that it would suspend cooperation on illegal migration into Europe if the EU encouraged anti-government protests.
Protesting Austria announced that it was sending a military plane to Malta with the aim of evacuating Austrians and European citizens from Libya or other Arab countries.
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Lucinda Levalle: "Gaddafi hasn't changed anything"
Norbert Darabos, Austria's defence minister, told the AFP news agency: "Due to the security situation in Libya, which has worsened in the last few hours, the government has decided to send a C-130 Hercules from the Austrian army, as well as special relief units, to southern Europe.
"The escalation of the situation in Libya has made preparations for the evacuation of Austrian as well as European Union nationals necessary."
The military plane took off on Sunday but precise details of when the evacuations would take place remain undecided, the ministry said.
Up to 100 demonstrators have been protesting outside the Libyan embassy in London.
One of the the organisers, Lucinda Levalle from the British Libyan Solidarity Campaign, said that, despite closer trading links between the UK and Libya, nothing had changed politically.
She said: "The whole process of rapprochement with Libya is on false premise.
"Gaddafi hasn't changed anything and the massacre that's happening in Benghazi and around Libya today is proof that this man has not changed one bit from the terrorist he was in the 80s."
The FCO, which refused to be drawn on evacuation plans, is in touch with about 50 Britons in that part of Libya.
The foreign secretary has expressed the UK's "grave concern" to the Libyan leader's son about violence there.
At least 173 people have been killed in Libya since demonstrations began on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said.
Earlier, William Hague spoke to Col Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "The foreign secretary made clear the UK's grave concern at the escalation in violence.
"He expressed alarm at reports of large numbers of people being killed or attacked by Libyan security forces."
Mr Hague reportedly said that the Libyan government's actions were "unacceptable" and "strongly encouraged the Libyan government to embark on dialogue and implement reforms".
Meanwhile, Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, has also commented on the escalation of violence.
Travel advice
He said: "We could be seeing a potentially historic shift in power in the region between government and the governed, and Britain should be doing all it can to support restraint, human rights and democratic reforms."
The FCO advises against any non-essential travel outside the capital Tripoli.
There were about 3,500 British citizens resident in Libya, mostly in Tripoli, although many are thought to have left.
Embassy staff and their families are still there, although that could change if travel advice for all citizens is amended.
A FCO spokeswoman said the situation in Libya was "fast moving" and travel advice was being updated as necessary.
Meanwhile, the EU's foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton has said she is "really worried" about what is happening in Libya.
"We have been urging restraint and it is important to continue to do so. It is very, very important that the violence stops," she said.
"It is very important that people can have their voices heard and that's what we'll be calling for," she added.
The comments came after a spokesman for the Hungarian Presidency of the European Council said Libya had informed European ambassadors in Tripoli that it would suspend cooperation on illegal migration into Europe if the EU encouraged anti-government protests.
Protesting Austria announced that it was sending a military plane to Malta with the aim of evacuating Austrians and European citizens from Libya or other Arab countries.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.Lucinda Levalle: "Gaddafi hasn't changed anything"
Norbert Darabos, Austria's defence minister, told the AFP news agency: "Due to the security situation in Libya, which has worsened in the last few hours, the government has decided to send a C-130 Hercules from the Austrian army, as well as special relief units, to southern Europe.
"The escalation of the situation in Libya has made preparations for the evacuation of Austrian as well as European Union nationals necessary."
The military plane took off on Sunday but precise details of when the evacuations would take place remain undecided, the ministry said.
Up to 100 demonstrators have been protesting outside the Libyan embassy in London.
One of the the organisers, Lucinda Levalle from the British Libyan Solidarity Campaign, said that, despite closer trading links between the UK and Libya, nothing had changed politically.
She said: "The whole process of rapprochement with Libya is on false premise.
"Gaddafi hasn't changed anything and the massacre that's happening in Benghazi and around Libya today is proof that this man has not changed one bit from the terrorist he was in the 80s."