Lord Hague questioned over Britain's post-war Libya plan

Lord Hague, who was the Conservative party’s Foreign Affairs Secretary between 2010 and 2014, is to be quizzed by MPs on what Britain’s post-conflict plan was for the country following on from the airstrikes it carried out with French forces in 2011.

Despite it previously being the wealthiest African nation due to its oil resources, Libya is now one of the world’s poorest economies and the so-called Islamic State terrorist organisation has swept in and thrived.

MPs sitting on the Foreign Affairs Committee today are expected to ask the former Richmond MP how much was known about the potential threat of radical Islam, and what kind of financial plans were in place to help the country following its aerial bombardment.

Whether an immediate push for democratic elections in 2012 was the right thing to do, and the work of the British led ‘Stabilisation Unit’ to foster democracy will also be touched on during the session.

In a previous hearing in December 2015 which was disrupted due to the Government’s vote on air strikes in Syria, Lord Hague explained how the Conservative front-bench had signalled the end of the ‘sofa Government’ style of decision making on foreign affairs through the National Security Council (NSC), which he chaired.

When questioned if Britain acted for its ‘national interest’ when it bombed the city of Benghazi to stop Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi’s forces attacking, he said yes, and this had been agreed by all senior party members.

He said: “The decision was taken in the NSC with all relevant people present, and I remember the Prime Minister summing up the meeting and saying, “The key question is this: is it in the British national interest, if this is about to happen in Benghazi and this conflict is happening in this way, for us to intervene? That is the question we have to decide.”

“And having taken opinions from all around the room, he concluded that it was. So that was specifically the terms of the NSC decision.”

Questions on the strategy and intelligence available to the NSC will be returned to today by MPs during questions. The committee will also hear from Dr Liam Fox, former defence secretary.