Downing Street Says

Asked if the Government was ignoring the remarks made this morning by the Libyan Prime Minister regarding both the murder of Wpc Yvonne Fletcher and the Lockerbie bombing, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said of course not. As he had stated at this morning’s briefing, we would be seeking clarification from the Libyan authorities in the light of the fact that paragraph 3 of their letter to the UN showed clearly that they had accepted responsibility for Lockerbie and had agreed to pay compensation to relatives of the victims of the atrocity. Equally, as the Libyan Foreign Minister had said during his visit to the UK earlier this month, Libya wanted to work in close co-operation with the British Government on the Yvonne Fletcher issue. Indeed, following the general admission of responsibility in 1999 for her murder, Libya had agreed to pay compensation to her family. Asked how the British Government would be seeking clarification, the PMOS said that it would be done through the usual channels.

Asked to clarify how much progress had been made on the Lockerbie issue, the PMOS said that real progress had been made, particularly in terms of the payment of compensation to the families of the victims. In contrast, we were still waiting for more progress to be made on the Yvonne Fletcher case. That, however, was an operational matter for the Met Police. In the meantime, as the Libyan Government was aware, we remained fully supportive of the Met’s investigation. Put to him that Libya appeared to see the payment of compensation as the only way to draw a line under the Lockerbie issue, whereas the British Government saw it as payment to compensate an act of mass murder, the PMOS said that the Libyan authorities were in absolutely no doubt whatsoever about our view of the Lockerbie bombing and the murder of Yvonne Fletcher. That said, what was important was what actually happened in reality. It was clear that progress had been made – and compensation paid – in both cases. However, progress obviously needed to be maintained in the case of Yvonne Fletcher. Asked if the Prime Minister would put off his visit to Libya until further progress had been made, the PMOS said that the important thing was to continue to make and maintain progress. Clearly it would not be helpful to negotiate or set benchmarks in public, which was why we would continue to talk to the Libyan authorities in private. That said, however, it was important to recognise that real progress had been made on the WMD issue, as had been confirmed today by the head of the IAEA, Mohammed ElBaradei.

Asked if the Government agreed with the view expressed by the police that Wpc Fletcher had been killed by a shot from inside the Iranian Embassy, the PMOS said that we had no reason to dispute that opinion.

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» Tuesday, February 24, 2004

Libya

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