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British tourists and expatriates in Kenya had to remain indoors yesterday, and 350 arriving home at Gatwick told of their experiences as the post-election violence continued.

Gordon Brown expressed grave concern about the situation in the East African country and pledged “unstinting” support for reconciliation attempts there. During telephone conversations on New Year’s Eve, the Prime Minister called on President Kibaki, who was sworn in for a second term on Sunday, and Raila Odinga, the opposition leader, to stop the violence.

Mr Brown also spoke to President Kufuor of Ghana, who is chairman of the African Union, and Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, a former president of Sierra Leone and head of the Commonwealth observer mission in Kenya, about international assistance for the process of reconciliation.

With the violence showing little sign of abating last night, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised the 7,000 British tourists currently in Kenya to stay indoors.

“If you need to travel you should exercise extreme caution and seek advice locally,” officials said.

They cautioned against all but essential travel to a number of mainly urban areas, including some parts of Mombasa and Nairobi.

Most tourists are based in beach and safari centres outside the cities, but about 12,000 British nationals who are based in Kenya more permanently are registered with the High Commission in Nairobi.

The Foreign Office said that there could be up to 30,000 Britons in Kenya at any one time, including expatriates, and added: “We are not aware of any who have been injured or killed.”

Yesterday a British mother of three said that she and her family and friends had been “holed up in our homes for three days” by the violence. Writing on her blog, entitled Africa Expat Wives’ Club, she added: “New year safaris have been cancelled and very few ventured out to party last night . . . The only excursions we have made are to friends’ houses or to the shops, where produce is running very low as the resupply infrastructure has broken down.” She expected few people to return to work today as scheduled.

Alison Rogers, 42, a British teacher who lives in the opposition stronghold of Kisumu, had to flee to a hotel with her family after some of the most serious violence. “Getting to the airport would be a frightening experience as your car could be stoned or set on fire,” she said.

A British tourist staying in Nairobi said that, although the situation there was deteriorating, it was too dangerous to continue her journey to Mombasa. “No money is available as ATMs are empty,” the woman, who asked not to be named, told the BBC. “Most hotels have placed a ‘polite’ notice saying they are short-staffed. Some staff are having to stay in hotels, sleeping on floors.”

Outside the urban centres, tourists said, things were calmer. “There is a considerable terrorist police increase, although Nairobi is where most of the problems are,” said one holidaymaker, John Yeomans, 57, from Surrey, who had been staying at a resort in Shanzu Beach before returning to Gatwick last night. “I would not go there now but if you are there and in a hotel you don’t have to go out,” he added.

Ian Newman, who is still staying at a beach resort south of Mombasa with his family, described the atmosphere there as relaxed. “There’s a news blackout here — the Government seems to have stopped the newspapers; there’s not much happening on the radio either. We’re in a very resorty sort of place. It looks as though most of the violence is limited to the urban areas.”

The travel company Kuoni, which organises trips to Kenya, said that it had not yet received any requests from customers wanting to come home or cancel their holiday. “We have cancelled excursions into Nairobi and Mombasa but all the safaris are going ahead as normal,” a spokeswoman said. “We will continue to monitor the situation and would look into any requests to come home on an individual basis.”

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic said that their flights to and from Kenya were operating normally, while a spokesman for Abta said: “We are monitoring the situation very closely.

After Mr Brown’s talks with President Kufuor and Dr Kabbah, a Downing Street spokesman said: “They agreed on the urgent need to establish a process of reconciliation in Kenya facilitated by the Commonwealth and the African Union.”

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