Former British Prisoners of War have expressed their shock and disgust after a Tokyo court rejected their claim for compensation for the suffering they endured in Japanese camps.

But former PoW organisations in Britain have said they are determined to continue their campaign.

Arthur Titherington, one of the seven representative plaintiffs, was so horrified by the verdict he spat on the Japanese parliament building, known as the Diet.

More than 12,400 Britons died in Japan's PoW camps

"There were a lot of police around because of the China visit so without really thinking I walked up to a policeman and asked if this was the Diet," he said.

"Obviously I knew it was but I wanted to make sure that everyone knew what I was doing.

"I swept past him and I spat on the floor. I then stormed away and wandered around to another entrance where there were more police and I repeated my action."

Mr Titherington, chairman of the Japanese Labour Camps Survivors' Association, spent three-and-a-half years as a slave labourer in a copper mine in Taiwan.

He was one of only 90 survivors of the 523 Britons sent to labour there - and weighed just five-and-a-half stones when he was liberated.

Lawyer shocked by verdict

The judges gave out a brief summary of the reasons for their stating that under the terms of the 1951 treaty individuals or groups could not seek compensation from the government.

Lawyer Martyn Day: "No comfort for ex-PoWs"

Compensation issues, they said, had to be handled on a government-to-government level.

The former PoWs' lawyer, Martyn Day, said he was astonished at the judges' statement.

"There are absolutely no words in that judgement that give any comfort to any of the people I represent. I can't tell you how bitterly disappointed I feel," he told a news conference.

Mr Day said he found it amazing that the Japanese judges had refused even to take into account overwhelming evidence from Mr Titherington and his fellow plaintiffs about how they were treated.

"It shows how backward they still are in terms of accepting what happened in the war," he said.

'They don't want to lose face'

Muriel Parham, spokeswoman for the Association of British Civilian Internees said: "It is disgusting, but I don't see it as a surprise. The Japanese don't want to lose face.

"There is just no justice. I just wish they had taken their time with the judgment and treated us all a bit nicer."

Mrs Parham was five years old when she was captured in Manila with her family.

"We spent three-and-a-half years in utter hell. We were all skeletons when we came out," she said.

Her mother could never come to terms with what had happened, and committed suicide in 1960.

"Nobody spoke about it after we came out and the Japanese have never even admitted it happened. I will fight on, even more so now," she added.

Bill Holtham, the founder of the Japanese Labour Camp Survivors Association, said the fight was now a "moral issue".

"We just want them to wipe the slate clean," he said.

"If there is a way to take this further we will. It's not just the survivors, it's the widows and dependants whose lives have been completely ruined by the Japanese in the war."

British embassy 'must act' - Howard

The British shadow foreign secretary, Michael Howard, said he was deeply disappointed by the Japanese court's decision.

"We all hoped that these proceedings would lead to some proper recognition and compensation for those who suffered so dreadfully during the war," he told the BBC Radio's Today programme.

He called on the British Embassy in Japan to back the PoWs in their appeal to the greatest extent possible.

"If that fails, the government should take this matter up once again with the Japanese Government," he added.

More than 12,400 Britons died in Japanese camps during World War II and thousands still bear the physical and mental scars of torture.

Their appeal for compensation could take about two years to reach the Supreme Court. In the meantime those seeking compensation are getting ever older.