Libya's prime minister lays a wreath at
the spot where PC Yvonne Fletcher was shot dead outside the country's
London embassy in 1984.
Libya's interim prime minister said on Friday that his country's former intelligence chief was "directly or indirectly involved" in the murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher and knew the identity of her killer.
In an interview with the Guardian, Abdurrahim El-Keib said that Abdul Senussi – who fled Libya last year and escaped to Mauritania – was the key to solving Fletcher's murder nearly three decades ago. "He's the black box," Keib said.
He added: "I guarantee he was almost directly or indirectly involved in most if not all of the crimes [of the former regime]. That doesn't mean others weren't involved. But he definitely knows who they were."
Senussi is wanted by the international criminal court for crimes against humanity in Libya. In addition, France wants to try him in connection with the 1989 bombing of an airline over Niger in which 170 people died. Britain is also interested in talking to him about the Lockerbie bombing, in which Senussi is suspected of involvement.
Keib said he was convinced Senussi could name the person who shot Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984. He laid a wreath on Friday at the spot in St James's Square, bowing his head. "This is a crime we have all been affected by," he said. "Yvonne Fletcher was doing her duty as a policewoman, trying to protect both sides."
Libya's leader met David Cameron on Thursday. He told him that several of his friends had been demonstrating that day in 1984 and pledged to work closely with Britain to achieve justice. A team of detectives from the Metropolitan police will now fly to Libya to continue its inquiry into Fletcher's murder. Asked whether her killer was most probably still alive and in Libya, Keib said: "I leave this to the investigation."
He urged Downing Street to help Libya extricate Senussi from Mauritania, where he fled last year. Senussi is Muammar Gaddafi's brother-in-law. He is accused of numerous crimes including a massacre in Tripoli's notorious Abu Salim prison, which left around 1,200 inmates dead.
He appeared this week at a secret court hearing in Mauritania, charged with entering the country illegally, and is currently being held in a villa in the capital, Nouakchott. Keib promised Senussi his day in court: "This person needs to be tried in Libya soon so we can close the books on many of the crimes committed by the past regime."
The Libyan prime minister shrugged off reports that Gaddaffi's son Saif al-Islam had been mistreated in custody, and said that he would be tried in open court according to international standards. Saif's trial would take place in Libya, he said: "I met with him. I made sure he was well-treated." Asked whether Saif was likely to be executed, if found guilty, he said: "Our intention is not to kill people, you know. Our intention is to bring this issue to closure and move forward.'
Keib said he was optimistic about Libya's future. He said elections to create a new national assembly due on 19 June might be postponed by a week or two but would definitely take place over the summer. "The Libyan people did it [the overthrow of Gaddafi] against all odds. We will surprise the world again by going through the election peacefully," he predicted.
But the prime minister conceded that former regime elements, operating from both inside and outside Libya, were actively trying, as he put it, to destabilise the situation. "They are plotting against the Libyan people. They want to take us back to the Dark Ages," he said. Asked why Gaddafi loyalists would want to cause trouble, since their leader was dead, he replied: "They are in a state of denial."
Keib refused to be drawn on what role he might play in any future government. "I would serve Libya even as a garbage collector, if that helps Libya," he said. Libya's interim ruling body, the National Transitional Council will hand over to the new national assembly, whose chief task will be to draw up a constitution.
Since the fall of Tripoli last summer, the NTC has struggled to assert its authority. Human rights abuses have continued, with bloody clashes between rival militias. There is also a growing divide between Libya's regions, with some towns such as Misrata becoming virtual city-states. There are also serious divisions between different ministries in Tripoli.
Keib, however, rejected the claim that Libya was hurtling towards disaster and becoming inexorably Balkanised. He said the new constitution might result in a federal Libya; another option was a system of provinces and municipalities. Secessionism wasn't just a Libyan problem, he said, adding: "There are a group of people in Texas who want to separate."
In addition, Keib said it was wrong to suggest that Gaddafi's overthrow last year was exclusively the result of western-engineered regime change – as Moscow claims. "It's unfair to say that Nato liberated Libya. It takes away from the energy, lives, determination and tremendous effort that the Libyan people have done," he said.
Speaking earlier at Chatham House, Keib – a professor of electrical engineering who became interim prime minister last October – described Britain as a beautiful country. He said he first visited London as a child in 1965, when he went to a summer school to learn English and lived in Adelaide Road, Swiss Cottage.
Keib said he was keen that young men and women from Libya studied at British universities including Oxford, Cambridge and Manchester. Asked about the London School of Economics, which unwisely accepted £1.5m from Saif al-Islam, he joked: "LSE even better."
In an interview with the Guardian, Abdurrahim El-Keib said that Abdul Senussi – who fled Libya last year and escaped to Mauritania – was the key to solving Fletcher's murder nearly three decades ago. "He's the black box," Keib said.
He added: "I guarantee he was almost directly or indirectly involved in most if not all of the crimes [of the former regime]. That doesn't mean others weren't involved. But he definitely knows who they were."
Senussi is wanted by the international criminal court for crimes against humanity in Libya. In addition, France wants to try him in connection with the 1989 bombing of an airline over Niger in which 170 people died. Britain is also interested in talking to him about the Lockerbie bombing, in which Senussi is suspected of involvement.
Keib said he was convinced Senussi could name the person who shot Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984. He laid a wreath on Friday at the spot in St James's Square, bowing his head. "This is a crime we have all been affected by," he said. "Yvonne Fletcher was doing her duty as a policewoman, trying to protect both sides."
Libya's leader met David Cameron on Thursday. He told him that several of his friends had been demonstrating that day in 1984 and pledged to work closely with Britain to achieve justice. A team of detectives from the Metropolitan police will now fly to Libya to continue its inquiry into Fletcher's murder. Asked whether her killer was most probably still alive and in Libya, Keib said: "I leave this to the investigation."
He urged Downing Street to help Libya extricate Senussi from Mauritania, where he fled last year. Senussi is Muammar Gaddafi's brother-in-law. He is accused of numerous crimes including a massacre in Tripoli's notorious Abu Salim prison, which left around 1,200 inmates dead.
He appeared this week at a secret court hearing in Mauritania, charged with entering the country illegally, and is currently being held in a villa in the capital, Nouakchott. Keib promised Senussi his day in court: "This person needs to be tried in Libya soon so we can close the books on many of the crimes committed by the past regime."
The Libyan prime minister shrugged off reports that Gaddaffi's son Saif al-Islam had been mistreated in custody, and said that he would be tried in open court according to international standards. Saif's trial would take place in Libya, he said: "I met with him. I made sure he was well-treated." Asked whether Saif was likely to be executed, if found guilty, he said: "Our intention is not to kill people, you know. Our intention is to bring this issue to closure and move forward.'
Keib said he was optimistic about Libya's future. He said elections to create a new national assembly due on 19 June might be postponed by a week or two but would definitely take place over the summer. "The Libyan people did it [the overthrow of Gaddafi] against all odds. We will surprise the world again by going through the election peacefully," he predicted.
But the prime minister conceded that former regime elements, operating from both inside and outside Libya, were actively trying, as he put it, to destabilise the situation. "They are plotting against the Libyan people. They want to take us back to the Dark Ages," he said. Asked why Gaddafi loyalists would want to cause trouble, since their leader was dead, he replied: "They are in a state of denial."
Keib refused to be drawn on what role he might play in any future government. "I would serve Libya even as a garbage collector, if that helps Libya," he said. Libya's interim ruling body, the National Transitional Council will hand over to the new national assembly, whose chief task will be to draw up a constitution.
Since the fall of Tripoli last summer, the NTC has struggled to assert its authority. Human rights abuses have continued, with bloody clashes between rival militias. There is also a growing divide between Libya's regions, with some towns such as Misrata becoming virtual city-states. There are also serious divisions between different ministries in Tripoli.
Keib, however, rejected the claim that Libya was hurtling towards disaster and becoming inexorably Balkanised. He said the new constitution might result in a federal Libya; another option was a system of provinces and municipalities. Secessionism wasn't just a Libyan problem, he said, adding: "There are a group of people in Texas who want to separate."
In addition, Keib said it was wrong to suggest that Gaddafi's overthrow last year was exclusively the result of western-engineered regime change – as Moscow claims. "It's unfair to say that Nato liberated Libya. It takes away from the energy, lives, determination and tremendous effort that the Libyan people have done," he said.
Speaking earlier at Chatham House, Keib – a professor of electrical engineering who became interim prime minister last October – described Britain as a beautiful country. He said he first visited London as a child in 1965, when he went to a summer school to learn English and lived in Adelaide Road, Swiss Cottage.
Keib said he was keen that young men and women from Libya studied at British universities including Oxford, Cambridge and Manchester. Asked about the London School of Economics, which unwisely accepted £1.5m from Saif al-Islam, he joked: "LSE even better."
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