Fears Al Qaeda Could Get Gaddafi Weapons

A senior British military figure has warned that weapons used by Colonel Gaddafi's forces could fall into the hands of al Qaeda and other terrorist groups - if they hadn't already.

But Air Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, who is in charge of all the UK's overseas operations, praised the UK's involvement in the Nato-led Operation Unified Protector.

He said that the legality of the air strike which injured the Libyan dictator before his capture and death was beyond question.

At a briefing at the Ministry of Defence, Sir Stuart told journalists that they were still unclear as to exactly how many shoulder-launched surface to air missiles Col Gaddafi possessed.

"We're trying to work that out, we're trying to get to the bottom of what might be there.

"We knew at the beginning that Gaddafi invested heavily in MANPADS [man-portable air defence systems].

"We need to be careful where these things end up, and we therefore take that thought very seriously.

"Those weapons in the wrong hands are lethal."

Sir Stuart was pressed as to how many MANPADS there were and the risk of al Qaeda sourcing them through Libya's notoriously porous borders.

"There's always a risk of proliferation of such weapons, and it's a matter of record that there are more than hundreds," he said.

"We do not know exactly how many there are.

"We're taking this really seriously and working with our allies to make sure that risk does not materialise.

"As for which group might get them, the whole proliferation of arms is a pretty murky business so it could be all sorts."

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "A team of British experts has been working alongside Libyan and US colleagues since September to identify, secure and destroy Man-Portable Air Defence Systems.

"Over 800 bunkers have already been inspected by teams across Libya and the UK has provided around £1.5m to support this vital counter-proliferation work."

As questions continue to be asked as to the manner in which Col Gaddafi met his end, Sir Stuart was adamant that Nato forces had acted in accordance with the United Nations Security Council mandate.

He claimed that the convoy carrying Col Gaddafi away from Sirte had been targeting civilians.

"On that day the fighting was very intense in and around Sirte.

"That convoy was shooting at people, and our mission is to protect those people, therefore attacking that convoy was inside the Nato mandate.

"The legality of that mission is absolutely clear to me, and the legality of all the attacks we have undertaken is clear to me. Right to the end the people in that convoy were shooting at civilians, and that's a fact."

Instead, as Nato seeks further clarification from Libya 's National Transitional Council, that decision may still be some days off.

Sir Stuart said that the UK could be willing to continue to be involved militarily in the new Libya.

"That's a policy decision to be debated by the [UK's] National Security Council - we will support whatever decision is reached, but we're not at that point yet," he said.

"There are many things we might be able to do, there are many things we might wish to do, but it's very much now governed by the Libyans and their request to us - which is not yet clear."

Since the beginning of the conflict the UK has flown over 3,000 missions in the skies above Libya, more than 2,100 of which were strike sorties carried out by Typhoon and Tornado jets and Apache attack helicopters.

At its peak, 2,300 British servicemen and women were deployed on the Libyan operation.