Fresh arrests have been made in the shooting of British newlyweds on their honeymoon on the Caribbean island of Antigua.

Police were questioning six "persons of interest" after two of the three earlier detainees were released, a spokesman told The Times.

Inspector Cornelius Charles of the Antigua police cast doubt on a report that the couple, Benjamin and Catherine Mullany, had been tortured for 20 minutes before they were shot on the last day of their honeymoon in an apparent robbery at their beach cottage at the Cocos Hotel. A British tabloid had claimed that Catherine Mullany was foreced to watch as her husband was beaten, before she was shot and killed.

However, Inspector Charles said police had no evidence of torture or that Mr Mullany suffered a broken leg.

Mrs Mullany died at the scene, and Mr Mullany was barely clinging to life at the island's Holberton hospital.

"He is still in very serious condition," Inspector Charles said.

Doctors were wrestling with whether to switch off Mr Mullany's life support after his and his late wife's parents visited him in intensive care, and viewed his wife's body at the Barnes funeral house.

Two security guards at the Cocos Hotel were held for questioning, but they have since been released, said Inspector Charles. Under Antiguan law, police have 48 hours to charge people detained.

Antiguan police have cast a wide net, picking people with a history of violence for questioning. "we are still a bit wide" Inspector Charles acknowledged.

Police believe that the shooting was a robbery gone wrong. Three men have been held for questioning, two of whom reportedly worked as security guards at Coco’s Hotel where the couple were staying.

A surgeon at the hospital said last night that Mr Mullany, 31, a physiotherapist from the village of Ystalyfera, near Swansea, had suffered a fractured skull during the shooting.

Dr Fidel Fernandez said: “The situation is that Mullany is critically ill. There is no activity. The brain is dead. He is on a ventilator which supports his organs and without that he would die. There is no chance of survival. It is very, very sad.”

The hospital refused to confirm the doctor’s comments.

After marrying on July 12, the couple were on the last day of their honeymoon when at least one gunman burst into their hotel cottage at 5am on Sunday. Mrs Mullany, a doctor, who was about to start a new job, was shot dead.

Inspector Charles said that when officers arrived at the scene, Mr Mullany had been able to signal to them with a finger. “I think he just went downhill from there,” Mr Charles said.

His parents, Marilyn and Cynlais, arrived in St John’s on a flight from London yesterday. Mr Mullany’s uncle, Desmond, said that the family did not believe Mr Mullany was aware that his wife had died. Mrs Mullany’s parents, Rachel and David Bowen, said in a statement: “We are deeply shocked and devastated at the recent events in Antigua and are struggling to comprehend what has happened to Ben and Catherine.”

The first killing of a tourist in a decade has rocked the island, which depends on tourism for 75% of its economy.

The prime minister is expected to address the nation on Wednesday.

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