British detectives expected to visit Libya in Fletcher murder inquiry

British diplomats are confident that Scotland Yard detectives will soon be allowed to visit Libya to investigate the murder of WPc Yvonne Fletcher.

But they say the move will have to await the formation of a new Libyan government to replace the National Transitional Council (NTC) which overthrew Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

WPc Fletcher was shot dead while policing a protest outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984. Her killers have never been brought to justice.

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The Metropolitan Police inquiry into her murder remains open and officers want to travel to Libya to pursue their investigation.

Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague have raised the issue of WPc Fletcher’s killing with NTC leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil.

UK officials have also alerted the new leadership in Tripoli to concerns about the fate of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, who was returned to Libya in 2009, and the question of compensation to victims of IRA bombings that used explosives supplied by Col Gaddafi.

A senior British diplomat said: “We told them we wanted to pursue them (these issues) vigorously as soon as they have a new government. I think Yvonne Fletcher is going to be one of the first because that is still an open police investigation.”