UK expels more Libyan diplomats

Libya’s UK ambassador Omar Jelban, who met the Queen in 2010, was expelled on 1 May

Two more Libyan diplomats have been expelled from the UK because of “unacceptable” behaviour.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said the diplomats and their families now had a week to leave the country.

The Libyan ambassador to the UK was expelled on 1 May after an attack on the British embassy in Tripoli.

Mr Hague is taking part in a meeting in Rome to discuss the Libya crisis, and ways to help the rebels fighting Col Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

“I ordered the expulsion of the two diplomats on the basis that their activities were contrary to the interests of the UK”, the foreign secretary said in a statement.

He added: “I judged that the behaviour of these individuals had become unacceptable, and that they should therefore be declared persona non grata.”

The Foreign Office did not give details of the behaviour which led to the expulsions, but said there had not been any immediate threat to UK security.

Mr Hague said the status of the Libyan Embassy and its staff was kept under “constant review”.

Libya’s ambassador to the UK Omar Jelban was ordered to leave because of an attack on the British embassy in Tripoli, which left it burnt out. The Foreign Office said the Libyan regime had a duty to protect embassies.

Angry crowds attacked several foreign missions in the Libyan capital after reports a Nato air strike had killed one of Col Gaddafi’s son’s.

Saif al-Arab Gaddafi was reported to have died at his villa in the Bab al-Aziziya compound.

Nato said it had hit a “known command-and-control building” in the area, adding that it did not “target individuals”.

Downing Street described the expulsion of the diplomats as an example of increasing the pressure on Col Gaddafi.

A spokeswoman said: “We have upped the diplomatic pressure by expelling two Libyan diplomats. We have got to keep up the military pressure and the economic pressure.”

William Hague is in Rome to meet members of the Libya Contact group, which includes Nato members, Arab states and international organisations.

The group is looking at ways to finance the Libyan rebels, either through loans or the sale of oil from rebel-held areas.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on the international community to step up the isolation of Col Gaddafi’s regime, including by refusing to receive his envoys.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence has given more details of the military role which Britain has played in Nato’s Operation Unified Protector over Libya.

The MoD says that on Tuesday, RAF aircraft attacked two multiple rocket launchers near the town of Sirte, and destroyed an armoured personnel carrier and two artillery pieces which were attacking Misrata.

On Wednesday, a Tornado and a Typhoon jet attacked two surface-to-air missile launchers near Tripoli.

“UK Armed Forces have continued to make a significant contribution… to protect Libyan civilians under threat of attack”, said Maj Gen John Lorimer, spokesman for the Chief of the Defence Staff.

He said RAF support aircraft, including VC-10 tankers and Sentinel, Sentry and Nimrod R1 surveillance aircraft, had continued to provide “invaluable support” to both British and international military jets.

The Royal Navy says HMS Brocklesby, a specialist mine-clearance ship, has destroyed a mine laid by pro-Gaddafi forces in the approaches to the port of Misrata.

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