Gaddafi funding furore

PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy has described as “grotesque” claims that the late Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi bankrolled his 2007 election campaign with a £42 million donation.

Evidence made public in Paris is said to prove Gaddafi illegally financed Mr Sarkozy’s presidential race five years ago.

But the French leader – whose armed forces helped crush the Libyan regime last year – said: “If he had financed it, I wasn’t very grateful.” He said the claims had a “credibility of zero”.

The allegations emerged in a government briefing note published by website Mediapart. It said Mr Sarkozy and his aides visited Libya in 2005 and 2006 to secure funding.