Moussa Koussa leaves UK following Lockerbie questioning

Published on Tuesday 12 April 2011 14:36

LIBYAN defector Moussa Koussa is travelling to Qatar ahead of a meeting of the International Contact Group tomorrow, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

Mr Koussa quit his position as Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's foreign minister and arrived in the UK on March 30 in what was seen as a major blow to the Libyan leader's regime.

Mr Koussa is believed to have been an intelligence officer at the time of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

He has been interviewed by Scottish police investigating the 1988 attack which killed 270 people.

Mr Koussa will now see representatives from the Qatar government and others to "offer insights", according to a spokeswoman.

"He is free to come and go, and is travelling independently," the Foreign Office spokeswoman added.

Tory MP Robert Halfon, whose family fled Libya when Gaddafi took power, insisted: "Many people will be very anxious that Britain is being used as a transit lounge for alleged war criminals.

"We should learn from the release of Megrahi that we should not release those people associated with Gaddafi or let them out of the UK until they have faced the full course of the law, whether in British courts or international courts."

In a prepared statement to the BBC last night, the high-profile former minister spoke publicly for the first time since fleeing the crisis-torn country for the UK.

Mr Koussa said: "I ask everybody, all the parties, to avoid taking Libya into a civil war.

"This would lead to so much blood and Libya will be a new Somalia."

Mr Koussa added: "More than that, we refuse to divide Libya.

"The unity of Libya is essential to any solution and settlement for Libya."

In his statement, which did not directly criticise Gaddafi, he continued: "The solution in Libya will come from the Libyans themselves, and through discussion and democratic dialogue."

Mr Koussa said he had been "devoted" to his work for 30 years under Gaddafi and was confident that it was serving the Libyan people.

But, he said, after recent events "things changed and I couldn't continue".

"I know that what I did to resign will cause me problems, but I'm ready to make that sacrifice for the sake of my country," he added.

He said he came to the UK because he had "respect" for the people there, adding: "The people have historic relations with the Libyan people and we look to them as a friendly people, they are our friends."