THE TELEGRAPH: British prosecutors were told more than two years ago that they had sufficient evidence to charge two Libyans over the killing of WPc Yvonne Fletcher, according to a leaked report.
A senior lawyer carried out an independent review of the case on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), in which he said Matouk Mohammed Matouk and Abdulgader Mohammed Baghdadi could be charged with conspiracy to cause death.
Both men played instrumental roles in organising the shooting at the Libyan embassy in St James’s Square, central London, in 1984, the report said.
The secret report, which was conducted at the request of the Metropolitan Police, was completed in April 2007, just six weeks before Tony Blair, the prime minister at the time, held a controversial meeting with Colonel Gaddafi in Libya. The meeting formally opened trade links between Britain and the north African country.
The CPS said last night that two years on, the police had still not provided them with the final case against the men. It added that the investigation into the killing of WPc Fletcher, who was 25, was ongoing.
The fact that no further progress has been made despite the report will raise fresh questions about the nature of Britain’s vexed relationship with Libya since diplomatic relations were restored in 1999. >>> Christopher Hope, Gordon Rayner and Damien McElroy in Tripoli | Thursday, October 15, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Telegraph View: The Government's behaviour has made Britain look craven and weak.
The cynicism and tawdriness of Britain's dealings with Libya were brought into sharp focus recently by the release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi. While ostensibly returned to his homeland on compassionate grounds, the affair drew attention to the murky dealings between London and Tripoli as part of a concerted international effort to end Libya's pariah status and halt its embryonic nuclear weapons programme.
It was long suspected that the process of Libya's rehabilitation involved a tacit agreement no longer to pursue the killers of WPc Yvonne Fletcher, who was shot while on patrol outside the Libyan embassy 25 years ago.
As our report indicates today, the principal responsibility for the lamentable failure to bring WPc Fletcher's killer to book appears to lie with Tony Blair, the former prime minister. In the summer of 2007, he visited Libya for talks with Col Gaddafi as part of the rapprochement. At this point, the Crown Prosecution Service had enough evidence to charge two Libyans with conspiracy.
Yet Mr Blair, no doubt dazzled by the trade and oil exploration opportunities on offer, did not make the resolution of this episode one of the conditions for continuing the process. Nor, when the release of Megrahi by the Scottish executive was being contemplated, did the British Government apparently urge that the quid pro quo should be the handing over of those responsible. While Libya was said to be unprepared to extradite its nationals, a precedent had been set in the Megrahi case for conducting a trial in a third country. >>> Telegraph View | Friday, October 16, 2009
NUMBER 10 – ePetition: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to urgently seek the extradition to the UK of the murderer of WPC Yvonne Fletcher. >>>
