Gaddafi diplomats expelled from UK

Foreign Secretary William Hague said the Libyan embassy in west London, would be handed over to the NTC and the Libyan charge d’affaires was summoned to the Foreign Office yesterday to be told he and his remaining diplomats must now leave the country.

Mr Hague said the move would enable the UK to offer greater practical assistance to the rebels, starting with the unfreezing of assets worth £91m belonging to the NTC-controlled Arabian Gulf Oil Company.

The decision to recognise the NTC follows an agreement by the international contact group on Libya, meeting in Istanbul on July 15, to deal with the NTC as the legitimate governing authority in the country.

“Through its actions, the National Transitional Council has shown its commitment to a more open and democratic Libya, something that it is working to achieve in an inclusive political process,” Mr Hague told a Foreign Office news conference. “I’m making this announcement today to reflect the facts on the ground and to increase support for those fighting and working for a better future in Libya.”

Mr Hague said the NTC’s actions were in sharp contrast to those of Gaddafi whose attacks on his own people had “stripped him of all legitimacy”.

The UK has already established a diplomatic mission in the NTC stronghold of Benghazi, having suspended the activities of its embassy in Tripoli since February.

The UK would now deal with the NTC “on the same basis as other governments around the world” and would begin work on unfreezing further assets, including currency stocks of the Libyan central bank, held in the UK.

Mr Hague said the announcement had been delayed to ensure Libyan students studying in the UK did not lose the financial support they had been receiving through the embassy.