"The carnage is unimaginable, like a horror movie," the fast bowler told the Mail on Sunday.

"I'm sorry but the idea of being asked to go back out there is the last thing on my mind."

Harmison responded to suggestions in the British media that England had a moral obligation to go back to India for the two-Test series, which is scheduled to start on December 11 in Ahmedabad.

This developed as India's government denied reports that it had refused permission to send a team for a full tour of Pakistan early next year following the deadly Mumbai attacks. Indian television reported that the tour was cancelled amid a government probe into Pakistani links to the assaults on Mumbai that left nearly 200 people dead.

India were scheduled to play three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 match from January 13 to February 19.

"This is beyond cricket, this is beyond anything," Harmison said

"It's all very well for people to say we should carry on with the tour, but none of what has happened has anything to do with cricket. How anyone can say that we should be carrying on with the tour in the circumstances is beyond me."

The players had been given assurance by the England and Wales Cricket Board that they will not be forced to return to India for a two-Test series this month. Hugh Morris, the ECB managing director for cricket, said the team were committed to returning to India if it was "safe and secure" to do so, and a decision could be made today.

"I would not, if somebody felt strongly, force their arm," Morris said on the team's arrival at Heathrow late Saturday after the attacks forced the cancellation of the final two matches of an ODI series in the country.

"They would have the necessary information to make an informed decision but that would be a personal choice."

England captain Kevin Pietersen said his blood had run cold after watching events in Mumbai unfold.

"I'm still shaking from the atrocities in Mumbai," Pietersen was quoted as saying in yesterday's News of the World.

"Every time I see the footage of the carnage in the Indian city, I realize how close we were to death.

"I haven't slept thinking about the three-day rampage and siege. We were 800 miles from the attack, but suddenly we felt very vulnerable, especially as we had stayed at the targeted Taj Mahal Hotel just two weeks ago.

"It makes my blood run cold."

The decision to return home with two ODI matches still to play was made following the Mumbai attacks. "The players, unsurprisingly, have been hugely affected by this," Morris said.

The first Test is to start on December 11 in Ahmedabad with the second, set to be played on December 19-23, moved from Mumbai to Chennai.

The Indian government's reported refusal to clear their team's tour of Pakistan came after vigorous calls from Pakistan for the series to go ahead.

"Cricket is a binding force for the people of Pakistan and India. The Indian team must play in Pakistan or it will only encourage the terrorist elements," batsman Mohammad Yousuf said. "Authorities must not allow terrorists to derail cricket activities."

Former captain Moin Khan added: "I feel it is now all the more necessary for India to tour Pakistan and vice versa."

REUTERS

AGENCIES