British Home Secretary Jack Straw may release former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet after medical tests showed that the retired general was unfit to be extradited to Spain to stand trial, the BBC reported on January 12.

Straw said this was the "unequivocal and unanimous" conclusion of a four-strong medical team who examined Pinochet on January 5, said the report.

Straw's decision is subject to representations from the Spanishauthorities, the report quoted the Home Office as saying.

The BBC's Teletext service gave no further details and no one was immediately available at the Home Office for comment.