Scotland, April 02: British Prime Minister David Cameron says London will not help Libyan dictator’s son Saif Gaddafi if he wants to leave his home country.
The announcement by Downing Street followed the reports that this week’s travel by a close aide to Saif Gaddafi included secret meetings with British officials.
The disclosure fueled speculations that Ali Mohammad Ismail’s meetings were meant to create new options for Gaddafi’s son in case he wants to escape Libya.
While Saif Gaddafi has been visiting Britain regularly over the past years developing close links with British politicians and businessmen he is now facing a deteriorating fortune over his support for his father’s bloody offensive against his own people.
This comes as Noman Benotman who is a Libyan and a top analyst at the London-based think tank Quilliam, said he has learnt that Ismail had come to Britain with a set of proposals on Libya’s future.
According to Benotman, Quilliam proposed that international forces attacking Libya allow Gaddafi to step down as his sons take over the reins or are given a role in the African country’s new government.
Reports claimed the proposals have been rejected by the British government.
Cameron has insisted “we have a very clear view about the present regime and those people involved in that regime” adding anyone in Britain would be “subject to UK law”.
Yet MI6 has emerged to be in talks with 12 members of the Libyan government to persuade them to defect.
The scenario is unlikely to include offering the senior Libyan officials trials at courts.
This is given force by reports that MI6 has engineered the escape of Gaddafi’s Foreign Minister Musa Kusa from Libya and that ministers are even mulling to offer him a multi-millino-pound reward in exchange for the intelligence he has to offer.
The “euphoric welcome” of Kusa has been slammed by former Scottish secretary, Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke.
“Please, do not let us forget the consequence of Lockerbie not just for the international community but on a quiet and respectable Scottish town that will forever be known as the base of one of the worst atrocities this country has ever known,” she said.
“I look forward to greater investigation of the role of Musa Kusa in Lockerbie and in other atrocities,” she added.
—Agencies