The NatWest Three bankers who were extradited from Britain to face £11m Enron-related fraud charges will appear before a US court today.

Gary Mulgrew, 43, of Brighton, David Bermingham, 44, and Giles Darby, 45, have been ordered to appear before judge Ewing Werlein Jr at the Southern District of Texas Court for a rearraignment hearing.

All three men were extradited from Britain to Houston, Texas, on July 13 last year following a high profile campaign.

Their lawyers said they had been asked not to make any comment ahead of today's hearing, where the trio may have a case put to them against which they can enter new pleas.

Mulgrew, whose mother is Trish Godman, an MSP and formerly deputy presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament, is believed to be a divorced father of two.

After graduating from Strathclyde University with a degree in marketing, he joined NatWest.

He has described his time there as "19 wonderful years", working in London, Tokyo and New York and is now self-employed with his own "little building company".

Each of the three men was indicted in the US in 2002 on seven counts of wire fraud - illegally gaining money through international banking systems - and each face up to 35 years in prison if convicted. They deny the charges.

The NatWest Three have been released on bail of four million dollars (£1.9m) but barred from returning home pending their trial, which was set for January 7 next year.

It is alleged that in 2000 the three men advised their former employer NatWest to sell part of a company owned by collapsed US giant Enron for less than it was worth.

They then left the bank and bought a stake in the company, which they sold on at a significantly higher price to make a huge profit, it is claimed.

The trio, who deny the accusations, fought extradition for two years before finally being flown to the US.

American prosecutors issued a criminal complaint against them in June 2002, and in September 2004 a judge ruled that they could be extradited to face the charges under a treaty drawn up between Britain and the US in 2003.

Critics, including many MPs, argued the treaty allowed the US to seize British citizens on little evidence, but the Government refused to intervene.

The trio went through a series of appeals in UK courts until they were finally extradited to the US on July 13 2006.

The hearing was expected to start at 4pm local time (10pm).