Later!
No good Tom I'm afraid, they won't budge. Tried with various tools to leaver them up but with no result and am afraid to damage something if I persist. I'll just have to work around the problem. the reason I wanted them off was to investigate putting a stronger strap onto the camera, it seems to me that the considerable weight of the camera should have a strap wider than the rather narrow one now on the camera, ALso it might be the original strap and is showing wear and a few cracks in the leather, the bend in the strap where it loops around the clip is an obvious weak point...I really don't want to drop it!!! So I'm thinking about finding a stronger strap with suitable clip that will attach to the lugs somehow.
Thanks again
Vernon