Send Lockerbie bomber back, Gaddafi tells Brown in historic meeting at G8 summit
Mummar Gaddafi demanded the return of the Lockerbie bomber yesterday in an extraordinary encounter with Gordon Brown.
The Libyan dictator used their first face-to-face meeting to raise the case of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, who was convicted of blowing up Pan Am flight 103 in 1988.
He insisted that Al Megrahi, who is suffering from prostate cancer in a Scottish jail, be returned to Libya.
Talks: Gordon Brown poses for pictures with Colonel Gaddafi after holding talks behind closed doors
Scottish judges this week delayed completing an appeal against his conviction until at least September. The Libyans insist he risks dying behind bars.
Pending the appeal, the nationalist government in Scotland is considering a request for him to be allowed to serve the rest of his sentence in Libya.
Relatives of some of the 270 victims of the bombing have said they will feel betrayed if Al Megrahi, a former Libyan secret agent, goes home.
Mr Brown said last night he had told the Libyan leader that he could not intervene, adding: 'There's a request from Libya and that has to be dealt with by the Scottish administration.'
Yesterday's meeting at the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, marked the latest stage in Colonel Gaddafi's journey from international pariah to man of trust.
Dying: Abdel Basset Ali Al-Megrahi was found guilty of murdering 270 people in the Lockerbie bombing
His invitation to the summit also marked the moment his country was finally brought in from the cold by world leaders.
Although Libya is not a member of the G8, Colonel Gaddafi was asked to attend as chairman of the African Union.
Mr Brown agreed to meet him on the fringes of the summit for 45 minutes in what aides said was a 'warm' encounter.
They discussed the case of Nadia Fawzi, a British child stolen away by her Libyan father in 2007.
Mr Brown told Colonel Gaddafi that Britain wanted him to intervene to have the six-year-old returned to her mother, Sarah Taylor, who lives in Wigan.
Colonel Gaddafi said he expected the Libyan courts to order her return and promised to take a personal interest in her case.
The two men also discussed the case of Yvonne Fletcher, the policewoman shot dead outside Libya's London embassy.
Mr Brown urged Colonel Gaddafi to allow Scotland Yard detectives access to witnesses to the killing in 1984.
Tony Blair restored relations with Libya by flying there for talks in Colonel Gaddafi's tent in 2004.
The meeting came after the Libyan leader gave up his country's weapons programme and accepted responsibility for Lockerbie.
Gaddafi with Barack Obama: It is his first meeting with a US president
Iconoclastic: In a sea of staid suits, the Libyan leader's ornate red and gold robes stood out
Yesterday Mr Brown expressed his 'admiration and gratitude' for the dictator's 'brave' decision over his weapons.
In an apparent reference to the situation in Iran, he said he hoped to persuade other countries to 'follow Libya's example'.
The Prime Minister had invited the Libyan leader to a summit on energy in London last year but he did not attend.
Snatched: Nadia Fawzi was taken to Libya by her father
Colonel Gaddafi shunned the converted police barracks used to accommodate the other world leaders at L'Aquila.
Instead, he pitched his traditional Bedouin-style tent in the grounds of the summit site.
He has been accompanied everywhere by his all-female contingent of bodyguards, who are dressed in blue and gold uniforms.
Mr Brown last night hailed a $20billion deal struck at the G8 summit to help Africa feed itself.
The agreement, for a sum $5billionhigher than expected, will involve grants to improve agriculture on the continent.
The Prime Minister, who said Britain was contributing $1.8billion, said it would help Africa start to stand on its own feet.
Aid agencies expressed doubt however over how much of the fund involved new money.
Rich and developing countries for the first time set a goal of limiting the average world temperature increase to 2c (3.6f) above pre-industrial levels.
Home from home: Colonel Gaddafi is staying in a tent parade ground of L'Aquila police barracks
Most watched News videos
- Police cordon off area after sword-wielding suspect attacks commuters
- Makeshift asylum seeker encampment removed from Dublin city centre
- Terrifying moment Turkish knifeman attacks Israeli soldiers
- King and Queen depart University College Hospital
- Jewish man is threatened by a group of four men in north London
- Two heart-stopping stormchaser near-misses during tornado chaos
- Horror as sword-wielding man goes on rampage in east London
- King Charles in good spirits as he visits cancer hospital in London
- Moment van crashes into passerby before sword rampage in Hainault
- Shocked eyewitness describes moment Hainault attacker stabbed victim
- Moment first illegal migrants set to be sent to Rwanda detained
- Moment first illegal migrants set to be sent to Rwanda detained
