Let’s Get A Tighter Grip On Defence Spending

Britain’s performance on defence procurement is poor – it’s time to make those responsible face the consequences.














Equipped to do the job: British armoured forces in action in Afghanistan.

The history of defence procurement is not a happy one. Ensuring that our Armed Forces get the best possible equipment they need, when they need it, is easier said than done. Today, Labour will publish the findings of a comprehensive 10-month study into defence acquisition policy that will inform a wholesale review of party policy launched by Ed Miliband last year. There are few benefits of being in opposition, but being able to take a step back and reflect is one.

Labour can be proud of the fact that we increased the defence budget by 10 per cent in real terms during our years in power. Defence procurement was reformed and equipment, from drones to personal kit, was transformed – so much so that, by 2009, the last chief of the defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, remarked that our troops had never been so well equipped. The welfare of our forces, and crucially that of their families, was also improved.

But defence procurement is a complex and challenging activity. The lead times are enormous and technology changes So what is to be done? It is often said that there is a “conspiracy of optimism” in defence procurement. At best, there is a tendency to muddle through in the hope that both the customer and supplier “get there in the end”. At worst, defence procurement has been based on unrealistic assumptions and over-ambitious plans that balloon beyond all recognition, along with the costs. This conspiracy of optimism has to be replaced by a culture of consequences.

This must apply to the defence industry. In the past, the taxpayer has been left carrying the can for some of its lamentable failings, with some suppliers seeing the UK government as little more than a cash cow. Too many times, once a company or consortia has been awarded a contract, the price begins to ramp up.

First, we need firmer and fairer contracts that incentivise good performance, with industry asked to provide higher warranties for performance. There should be far greater penalties for those that fail to deliver on time and on cost, and the MoD should not be afraid of taking companies back to the initial approval stage, or indeed calling time on contracts that are simply not working. Experience should triumph over hope.

Second, in the case of de facto and actual monopoly suppliers to the MoD, there should be what is known as “open book” contracting once a contract is let. This means far greater transparency of costs and profits in a long-term partnering approach. Within such an approach, there should be not just an agreed price but an agreed target level of profit, too. If the MoD’s requirements change due to operational imperatives – where, say, our Armed Forces need something extra on top of the original specifications – industry must not be allowed to cash in and make super-normal profits on the change in price.

And third, we need shorter, less complex projects with streamlined processes and decision-making. In defence procurement, time is money.

But we also need that same culture of consequences inside the MoD. In the commercial world, promotion and bonuses are based on performance. But in the MoD, there is little sense that poorer performing individuals in very senior roles are ever held accountable. The people leading Integrated Project Teams (IPTs), who manage major procurement programmes, should have the authority, accountability and responsibility for project execution. Currently, they are given as little as four or five days’ training and tend to come from either the Civil Service or from the military – this does not always make them best able to manage hugely challenging commercial contracts.

These problems are compounded by the frequent changes in project managers. The norm in the MoD is to move jobs every two years. This leads to constant changes of strategy and emphasis, which are not helpful and avoid the need for managers to live with the consequences of their actions.

This autumn, the Government will publish its White Paper on the defence industry, but all the signs are that it will have little to say except – as is the case with the Bombardier contract for new trains – that we should give up at home and simply “buy off the shelf” from abroad. Today, Labour will present a host of ideas to reform defence procurement. But in beginning to shape policy for the future, all parties need to be honest about the past and learn from their mistakes.

Michael Dugher MP is shadow minister for defence equipment rapidly, as do our requirements, with the enemy having a say in all of this. And despite all the investment and improvements, we made mistakes. The problems of defence procurement have plagued all governments, but the huge delays and massive cost overruns continued on our watch.

That is why Labour in government commissioned the Gray Report in 2009 to identify the serious failures in acquisition. The current Government liked the report so much that it hired the author, Bernard Gray, to head up defence equipment and support at the Ministry of Defence.

The fact is Britain’s record is poor. Over the period for which there is consistent data (2003-2010), major projects costing the taxpayer in excess of £200 million, and those that were planned to take four to five years between “Main Gate” decision and entry into service, exceeded their most likely out-turn estimate of costs by more than 10 per cent on average – with extremes of up to 40 per cent. These programmes also slipped by 40-50 per cent – some by as much as 250 per cent – from their expected schedule.

So what is to be done? It is often said that there is a “conspiracy of optimism” in defence procurement. At best, there is a tendency to muddle through in the hope that both the customer and supplier “get there in the end”. At worst, defence procurement has been based on unrealistic assumptions and over-ambitious plans that balloon beyond all recognition, along with the costs. This conspiracy of optimism has to be replaced by a culture of consequences.

This must apply to the defence industry. In the past, the taxpayer has been left carrying the can for some of its lamentable failings, with some suppliers seeing the UK government as little more than a cash cow. Too many times, once a company or consortia has been awarded a contract, the price begins to ramp up.

First, we need firmer and fairer contracts that incentivise good performance, with industry asked to provide higher warranties for performance. There should be far greater penalties for those that fail to deliver on time and on cost, and the MoD should not be afraid of taking companies back to the initial approval stage, or indeed calling time on contracts that are simply not working. Experience should triumph over hope.

Second, in the case of de facto and actual monopoly suppliers to the MoD, there should be what is known as “open book” contracting once a contract is let. This means far greater transparency of costs and profits in a long-term partnering approach. Within such an approach, there should be not just an agreed price but an agreed target level of profit, too. If the MoD’s requirements change due to operational imperatives – where, say, our Armed Forces need something extra on top of the original specifications – industry must not be allowed to cash in and make super-normal profits on the change in price.

And third, we need shorter, less complex projects with streamlined processes and decision-making. In defence procurement, time is money.

But we also need that same culture of consequences inside the MoD. In the commercial world, promotion and bonuses are based on performance. But in the MoD, there is little sense that poorer performing individuals in very senior roles are ever held accountable. The people leading Integrated Project Teams (IPTs), who manage major procurement programmes, should have the authority, accountability and responsibility for project execution. Currently, they are given as little as four or five days’ training and tend to come from either the Civil Service or from the military – this does not always make them best able to manage hugely challenging commercial contracts.

These problems are compounded by the frequent changes in project managers. The norm in the MoD is to move jobs every two years. This leads to constant changes of strategy and emphasis, which are not helpful and avoid the need for managers to live with the consequences of their actions.

This autumn, the Government will publish its White Paper on the defence industry, but all the signs are that it will have little to say except – as is the case with the Bombardier contract for new trains – that we should give up at home and simply “buy off the shelf” from abroad. Today, Labour will present a host of ideas to reform defence procurement. But in beginning to shape policy for the future, all parties need to be honest about the past and learn from their mistakes.

Michael Dugher MP is shadow minister for defence equipment.

Labour Pledges Better Defence Deals

Labour has tried to draw a line under its history of disastrous military equipment spending programmes as it presented a report aimed at ensuring overruns never happen again.













Shadow defence minister Michael Dugher outlined the findings of a 10-month review into defence procurement which investigated how to cut delays and budget overspends in future deals.

Mr Dugher admitted that by holding its review Labour was "confronting the past" of contracts signed during its 13 years in power.

He said: "It is inescapable that the problems of defence procurement which plagued all governments continued on our watch. A future Labour government has got to do much better, which was why we wanted this review. We need big changes going forward."

Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy claimed the 96-page report, which includes 37 recommendations, is "extensive, open and ambitious".

He said: "We have lived for far too long with a conspiracy of optimism. No more can we have a culture of frequently missed deadlines and estimates which are extended to the detriment of a delivery timetable. There must be more openness in the system and more ruthlessness when there are overruns.

"Being prepared to cancel projects when time and budget exceed 20% of their estimate is, therefore, an example of the recommendations to which we will give very serious consideration."

He said equipment was delayed too often because new technology offered improvements while the original order was still being built - delaying getting much-needed equipment to the frontline.

"The search for the exquisite can delay the deployment of the excellent," said Mr Murphy.

Could This Be The End Of The RAF? Military Chief Refuses To Rule Out Merger With Navy As Cuts Loom

The future of the RAF and Royal Navy were thrown into doubt last night after the head of the Armed Forces said their merger should be 'debated'.


















Cash-strapped: Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup has not ruled out an amalgamation of the RAF and the Navy.

Sir Jock Stirrup caused consternation when he failed to rule out the amalgamation of two of the three cash-strapped military services.

The Chief of the Defence Staff said it was only 'plausible' that they would all exist separately in ten years' time.

The drastic cuts needed and the growing cooperation between forces in Afghanistan raised the controversial possibility that the air and sea service could unite.

Sir Jock made his comments at the unveiling of the Government's Green Paper on military reform, which lays the groundwork for a full-scale strategic defence review after the General Election.

The document, published by Defence Secretary-Bob Ainsworth, revealed no spending figures nor any indication of how the Armed Forces would look after the long-awaited shake-up. But it was revealed that:

* Defence chiefs will be forced to compromise on purchasing costly state-of-the-art equipment as ministers battle to reduce the nation's £178billion deficit;
* Britain can expect higher casualty rates as we are dragged into guerilla wars with increasingly sophisticated enemies;
* Despite the nation's battered finances, ministers will press ahead with the £20billion update of the Trident nuclear deterrent;
* The Armed Forces will have to work more closely with the French and other allies as spending cuts bite.

Mr Ainsworth also announced that the war in Afghanistan - which has claimed the lives of 253 UK service personnel - remained the top defence priority. Funding for troops and equipment will rise from £3.5billion to £5billion next year.






















And despite the urgent need for the MoD to cut costs in the face of a £ 36billion shortfall, he said that two new aircraft carriers costing £5billion each would 'most likely' go ahead.

The Green Paper warned: 'We cannot proceed with all the activities and programmes we currently aspire to, while simultaneously supporting our current operations and investing in the new capabilities that we need.'

The total number of British service personnel - 188,440 - is dwarfed by that of China and the U.S. and even trails that of France.

The Defence Secretary refused to say where cuts - expected to be significant - would be made in the defence budget.

But Sir Jock admitted that it was 'plausible' that one of the three services could be cut in future.














Top of the list: Afghanistan will remain the priority, with funding set to rise.

He warned against 'duplications, overlap and inefficiencies' in the Army, Royal Navy and RAF, while insisting the three could work seamlessly together. However, he said: 'There are interesting issues to be debated here.'

Experts suggested that the RAF - formed in 1918 - could be most vulnerable to the axe. Its fast jets, transport planes and helicopters could be split between the Army and Navy.


















Mr Ainsworth said he did not foresee 'major structural change' but warned: 'Not allowing single service interests to stand in the way of efficient delivery of security to the nation is something we have to look at.'

He added that the UK must prioritise its defence capabilities because it could not afford to 'insure against every risk'.

He made clear Labour would not scrap the Navy's new aircraft carriers despite criticism they were unaffordable and unsuited to modern conflict.

However, he refused to be drawn on the 140 Joint Strike Fighters intended to fly from the warship. The price of each jet has soared from £37million to more than £62million in four years.

He paved the way for greater military co-operation with France in a 21st century 'Entente Cordiale' while insisting the U.S. would remain Britain's most important ally.

'Our Armed Forces must be prepared if called upon to protect our interests, often in distant places, and most likely as part of a coalition of international forces,' he said.

Mr Ainsworth also promised legislation to force future governments to carry out a strategic defence review every four years. The last was in 1997 soon after Labour entered power.

Tory defence spokesman Liam Fox said: 'That our nation's security should be compromised by Labour's historic economic incompetence is truly a national tragedy.'

Call For Justice After Iraq Abuse Inquiry

The crown prosecution service is under pressure to bring civil prosecutions against soldiers involved in the abuse of an innocent Iraqi civilian who died in British army custody, after an inquiry found his death was caused by “an appalling episode of serious gratuitous violence”.











Daoud Mousa, father of Baha Mousa, shows photographs of his son and family.

Fourteen soldiers mentioned in the report are still serving, but some were suspended from duty on Thursday. MoD officials expect more suspensions in the coming days.

Baha Mousa, a hotel worker, died in Basra in September 2003 after soldiers repeatedly deprived him of sleep, placed a hood over his head and subjected him to banned “stress positions”.

Sir William Gage, the chairman of the inquiry, called the behaviour “wholly unacceptable in any circumstances”.

Mr Mousa sustained 93 injuries, including fractured ribs and a broken nose over 36 hours of systematic abuse between September 14 and 15, 2003.

Sir William said: “The events described in the report represent a very serious and regrettable incident. Such an incident should not have happened and should never happen again.’’

The directors of both public and service prosecutions are now considering whether the soldiers involved should face trial. Lawyers and campaigners insist they should be tried in public courts.

Sapna Malik, from law firm Leigh Day, said: “In light of the cogent and serious findings by Sir William Gage, we now expect that the military and civilian prosecuting authorities of this country will act to ensure that justice is done.”

Phil Shiner, from Public Interest Lawyers, added that it was an “absolute imperative” that prosecutions were brought in a civilian court.

Liam Fox, the defence secretary, said: “There is no place in our Armed Forces for the mistreatment of detainees and there is no place for a perverted sense of loyalty that turns a blind eye to wrongdoing or erects a wall of silence to cover it up.”

He added that the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (or IHAT), which started work in November 2010, was considering this and other reported cases of abuse.

“It is too early to comment on what the conclusions of the IHAT investigations might be, but cases will be referred to the director of service prosecutions, if and when there is sufficient evidence to justify this,” Mr Fox said.

Sir William issued a total of 73 recommendations to improve the way detainees are handled.

These included asking detainees “on entry and exit from a theatre-level detention facility” if they had any complaints about their treatment, and suggesting Her Majesty's Inspector of Prisons visit battlefield holding centres.

The former Court of Appeal judge condemned the actions of Corporal Donald Payne, who pleaded guilty in September 2006 to inhumane treatment of prisoners, as well as senior officers, including the commanding officer Colonel Jorge Mendonca, Lieutenant Craig Rodgers and Major Michael Peebles.

He said Cpl Payne was a “violent bully” who inflicted a “dreadful catalogue of unjustified and brutal violence” on Mr Mousa and other detainees and encouraged junior soldiers to do the same.

Seven soldiers faced allegations relating to the mistreatment of the detainees at a court martial in 2006-07, but only one was found guilty.

Baha Mousa Inquiry: MoD's Guilt For Death Of Army's Iraqi Prisoner

Nineteen soldiers could face criminal charges for their role in the death of an innocent Iraqi man after a public inquiry found he was the victim of “appalling and cowardly” violence while in British custody.












Baha Mousa with his son.

Military and civilian prosecuting authorities are examining the findings of a three-year inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa, a hotel receptionist who died after a 36-hour ordeal at the hands of British soldiers in Basra in September 2003. Nine other civilians were bound, hooded and subjected to “serious, gratuitous violence”.

The inquiry, chaired by Sir William Gage, a retired judge, found the Ministry of Defence guilty of a “corporate failure” to uphold basic standards by allowing rules to go “largely forgotten”. While clearing the soldiers’ unit, the 1st Bn Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, of having an “entrenched culture of violence”, he said it was clear the abuses were not a one-off.

Dr Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, said the events described in the report were “deplorable, shocking and shameful” and instructed the head of the Army to take action against any serving personnel who were involved.

Three serving soldiers, including an officer, have already been suspended from duty as a result of the inquiry.

Dr Fox told the Commons: “Baha Mousa was not a casualty of war. His death occurred as a detainee in British custody – it was avoidable and preventable and there can be no excuses. There is no place in our Armed Forces for the mistreatment of detainees and there is no place for a perverted sense of loyalty that turns a blind eye to wrongdoing or erects a wall of silence to cover it up.”

The 1,400-page report details how the victims spent a day and a half with bags tied around their heads while being forced to stand in “stress positions” – practices banned under both domestic law and the Geneva Conventions.

Last night the Chief of the General Staff, Sir Peter Wall, said the incident “cast a dark shadow” over the reputation of the Army while David Cameron condemned the “truly shocking and appalling” abuse which he said should never be repeated.

The £13 million inquiry singled out 19 soldiers whom it concluded were directly involved in the abuse, including some who have already faced unsuccessful prosecution at court martial.

Lawyers for families of the victims said there was potentially the evidence to bring new prosecutions against all of them in the civilian courts. It emerged last night that three soldiers serving in the Army, including an officer, had been suspended from duties and MoD sources believed another 11 former servicemen could also face charges.

The suspended officer, Maj Mike Peebles of the Intelligence Corps, would face a second court martial if Army prosecutors believed there was sufficient new evidence. He was originally acquitted of negligently performing a duty during a court martial in 2007 when he was among six soldiers to walk free after the effective collapse of a £20 million case.

Only Cpl Donald Payne, named as committing some of the worst abuses, was convicted at the original court martial after pleading guilty to inhumane treatment. He was cleared of manslaughter but jailed for a year. Six others, including the regiment’s former commanding officer, Col Jorge Mendonça, were cleared of charges.

Yesterday both he and Maj Peebles were singled out as bearing “heavy responsibility” for what happened. Several soldiers who were not involved in the original court martial are among those who could now face prosecution.

This could include a large number of men who have left the Forces.

Dr Fox said efforts were already under way to determine whether “more can be done to bring those responsible to justice”. He told MPs that the MoD’s Iraq Historic Allegations Team had found evidence of “some concern” and cases would be passed to the Director of Service Prosecutions where there was “sufficient” evidence. Any eventual cases would be likely to be brought by the Crown Prosecution Service as most of the men were now civilians. Sapna Malik, a lawyer representing the Iraqi families, said they “expect” both military and civilian prosecuting authorities to act.

Despite the criticism, Dr Fox rejected a key recommendation in the report for a blanket ban on so-called “harsh” questioning methods, warning that lives could be put at risk unless the Forces could deploy all “necessary” techniques.

Army Suspends Baha Mousa Soldiers As More Prosecutions Are Considered

General Sir Peter Wall, the head of the army, says new evidence could mean further disciplinary action against soldiers.












General Sir Peter Wall says further prosecutions against soldiers are being considered after fresh evidence was unearthed.

The army has suspended a number of soldiers after the publication of a damning report into the "violent and cowardly abuse" by servicemen that led to the death of an Iraqi detainee in British military custody.

There have been widespread calls for further prosecutions and the defence secretary, Liam Fox, disclosed that Ministry of Defence inquiries "are revealing evidence of some concern" in other Iraqi abuse cases.

Fox acknowledged for the first time that there could be more prosecutions. "If any serviceman or woman, no matter the colour of uniform they wear, is found to have betrayed the values this country stands for and the standards we hold dear, they will be held to account," he said.

General Sir Peter Wall, head of the army, confirmed that the force's provost martial will investigate whether anyone else should be disciplined in the light of fresh evidence unearthed by Sir William Gage's inquiry into the final hours of Baha Mousa's life in Basra in 2003.

Wall said the inquiry had cast a "dark shadow" over the service's reputation.

The retired appeal court judge's report, which runs to three volumes, found that troops from 1st Battalion Queen's Lancashire Regiment inflicted "gratuitous" violence on a group of 10 Iraqi civilians, who were kicked and hit in turn, "causing them to emit groans and other noises and thereby playing them like musical instruments". This humiliating practice was nicknamed "the choir".

While focusing criticism on a few members of the regiment – particularly Corporal Donald Payne, Lieutenant Craig Rodgers and Lieutenant Colonel Jorge Mendonca – the report also passes scathing comment on the role of the unit's regimental medical officer, Dr Derek Keilloh, and its padre, Father Peter Madden.

Both Keilloh and Madden face further hearings: the doctor will be examined by a General Medical Council disciplinary tribunal over his role in Iraq and the priest is to be interviewed by the archbishop of Birmingham, Bernard Longley.

The report will be passed to prosecutors to assess whether fresh charges should be brought against any soldiers. So far only Payne has been convicted of inhumanely treating civilians; he served one year in prison.

Fox said: "There is no place in our armed forces for the mistreatment of detainees and there is no place for a perverted sense of loyalty that turns a blind eye to wrongdoing or erects a wall of silence to cover it up."

Referring to methods of "conditioning" suspects in Northern Ireland that were banned in 1972, Fox admitted that "there was a 'systemic failure' that allowed knowledge of the prohibition on abusive techniques made by the Heath government to be lost over the years".

Military prosecutors from the Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) will be responsible for examining any cases brought against those still in uniform. Despite suggestions that the Crown Prosecution Service will be asked to examine the fresh evidence in relation to those who have already left the army, a CPS spokeswoman said: "We are not aware of anything being referred to us."

Dan Leader, a solicitor with Leigh Day and Co, which represented some of the detainees, said: "The claimants are very clear they want accountability. We are talking about torture and murder. All that has happened is that someone has spent one year in prison. The claimants are concerned about criminal justice and feel let down so far."

In terms of immediate disciplinary action, Wall told the Guardian that "some soldiers have been suspended from operational duty and military service". More suspensions may follow. Only 14 of those referred to in the Gage report are still in the army.

So far £2.8m has been paid out by the Ministry of Defence in compensation to Mousa's relatives and the nine other Iraqi detainees held in Basra between 14 and 16 September 2003.

The solicitor Phil Shiner, of Public Interest Lawyers, renewed his call for a wider inquiry into allegations about how British troops treated detainees in southern Iraq between 2003 and 2009.

"There is a case called Ali Zaki Mousa," Shiner said, "currently before the court of appeal that will determine whether the UK should fulfil its legal obligations by holding an extended inquiry into 150 additional complaints by Iraqi civilians."

Mousa's father, Daoud Mousa, was not in Britain for the report's publication but is due to deliver a lecture in memory of his son in London next week.

The MoD signalled that it would not accept one of Gage's recommendations, namely that "harshing" – shouting at detainees to intimidate them – should be abandoned. A test case about the technique, which the MoD defends, is due to come before the courts soon.

The General Medical Council declined to comment on the forthcoming hearing into Keilloh but Peter Jennings, press secretary for the archdiocese of Birmingham, said of the criticism of Madden: "The Catholic church takes this matter extremely seriously.

"The archbishop, the Most Rev Bernard Longley, and the vicar-general of the archdiocese will be meeting with Fr Madden when he has had the opportunity to study carefully the full report and the criticisms of himself in the context of the report."

Amnesty International called for soldiers to be charged.

"Those responsible must be held accountable for their actions and brought swiftly to justice, including in criminal proceedings," said Nicola Duckworth, the organisation's Europe and central Asia director.

Libya: September 5 As It Happened

Minute by minute coverage from Libya as secret documents disclosed MI6's alleged involvement in the "rendition" of the leader of an opposition group.












Rebel reinforcements from Tripoli go through a checkpoint between Tarhouna and Bani Walid.












Rebels reinforcements from Tripoli celebrate as they arrive at a checkpoint between Tarhouna and Bani.












Abdelhakim Belhadj head of the Tripoli Military Council in the post revolutionary Libyan government.












A rebel fighter, left, checks a car at a checkpoint between Tarhouna and Bani Walid, Libya.












Rebel fighter Abdul Multab practices shooting at a checkpoint between Tarhouna and Bani Walid.












Al-Saadi Gaddafi, the son of Col Gaddafi.

Latest

23.45 That's all for tonight. For the latest Libya live updates see our Libya page.

23.42 A few more details on the remarks by Colonel Gaddafi's spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, who said the ousted dictator was in good health and in good spirits somewhere in Libya. Mr Ibrahim told Syrian-owned Arrai TV:

He is in a place that will not be reached by those fractious groups, and he is in Libya.

He said Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, was also in Libya, moving around from one place to another.

22.53 Libyan rebel leader Abdul Hakim Belhaj claims British intelligence officers knew he was being tortured but did nothing to help him, the Guardian reported.

I couldn’t believe they could let this go on. What has happened deserves a full inquiry.

He said that the British visited in Tripoli after he was captured by CIA officers.

They came about a month after I was returned to Libya and they were very well briefed about LIFG [Libyan Islamic Fighting Group] members in the UK. They knew everything, even their code names. They wanted to know more details about the LIFG and also about the general environment elsewhere, al-Qaeda, that sort of thing.

22.42 Colonel Gaddafi is in Libya, in good health and in high spirits, his spokesman tells Arrai TV.

22.25 Libya's ruling National Transitional Council will not move from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi to the capital Tripoli until the whole of the country - including the Gaddafi bastions of Sebha, Sirte and Bani Walid - has been freed from the control of Gaddafi forces, the council's vice president Abdel Hafiz Ghoga told AFP.

20.05 Britain has re-opened its diplomatic mission in Tripoli after a team led by UK special representative Dominic Asquith arrived in the Libyan capital on an RAF flight - six months after closing its embassy at the start of the revolt against Colonel Gaddafi.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said:

The arrival of this team marks another significant step in the UK's relations with the new Libya, and reflects the progress the National Transitional Council has made in improving security and stability on the ground.












19.27 The UN Security Council is on Friday to discuss the launch of a wide-ranging mission to Libya to help tackle police reform, justice and election preparations.

The secretary general's special envoy, Ian Martin, is to report to members of the body on his visit to Libya, asking them to authorise an initial three-month mission, spokesman Ahmed Fawzi said.

But with leaders in Tripoli and Benghazi deeply reluctant to allow foreign troops onto Libyan soil, any proposal for a fully blown UN peacekeeping mission has been taken off the table, AFP reports.

18.44 The detention of thousands of suspected mercenaries and enemy fighters has left Libya's new government facing crowded prisons and concerns from rights groups that inmates may suffer unfair trials and mistreatment, writes Al Jazeera's Evan Hill.

18.25 Video: David Cameron tells MPs that Colonel Gaddafi "must face the law"



18.12 Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - the terror group's north African branch - has acquired a stockpile of weapons during the turmoil in Libya, including surface-to-air missiles that are threatening air travel, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove says.

Speaking at a Brussels news conference, de Kerchove said members of AQIP had "gained access to weapons, either small arms or machine-guns, or certain surface-to-air missiles which are extremely dangerous because they pose a risk to flights over the territory".

18.07 The deputy mayor of Tripoli says tap water is flowing again in most parts of the capital after a two-week outage that disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands people, AP reports.

17.56 Frederik Pleitgen posts this picture on Twitter from the entrance to the besieged town of Bani Walid. Fighters surrounding the town are worried that Gaddafi loyalists will use its inhabitants as human shields.












17.36 Mary Fitzgerald tweets on body found buried in grounds of Tripoli factory.

17.17 Labour leader Ed Miliband praised the Government for pressing for UN action.

"If we had not acted, we would have been spending recent months not talking about the progress of our action in Libya but wringing our hands over slaughter in Benghazi, as we did after Bosnia."












Mr Miliband also backed plans for the Gibson inquiry to investigate claims that MI6 was involved in the rendition of Libyan terror suspects.

No part of the British state should ever be complicit in torture.

16.40 Mr Cameron said the key needs for Libya at the moment were temporary classrooms and housing.

16.05 His full statement can be viewed on the No 10 website.

16.00 Mr Cameron said it was the "Libyan people who have liberated Libya". He said removing Col Gaddafi from power "was a major achievement".

Many cynics proclaimed stalemate and asserted that Gaddafi would never be defeated.

The Libyan people proved them wrong. It was a unique set of circumstances and not something that we can or wish to repeat all over the world.

But I have never accepted the argument that because you can’t do everything, you shouldn’t do anything. Although the work is not yet done, the Libyan people can be proud of what they have achieved and we can be proud of what we have done to help them.

15.55 Libya is fully capable of "paying for its own reconstruction", he told Parliament.

Of course there is a role for foreign advice, help and support but we don’t want to see an army of foreign consultants driving around in four by fours giving the impression this is something being done to the Libyans, rather than done by them.

15.50 He said it had been shown that the British and Libyan security services had "became too close" particularly in 2003 after revelations were aired over the weekend about Britain's involvement with the regime.

He said the official inquiry led by Sir Peter Gibson will look at claims British security services had been complicit in forms of Torture "including rendition".

15.45 Mr Cameron said Britain's "special representative" John Jenkins was flying to Libya to "re-establish" full diplomatic relationships with the new government.

15.40 The Prime Minister said the new Libyan PM "has assured me" that Libyan authorities will "cooperate fully" on justice for WPC Yvonne Fletcher.

"I want to see justice for her fanily," he said.

"There is an ongoing police investigation, and the House will wish to know Prime Minister Jabril has assured me of the new Libyan authority’s intention to co-operate fully."

15.35 He said Britain would help in the task as Libyan "build that future". the long work of building a new Libya is just beginning.

We will not let up until the job is done. Those thinking NATO will somehow pull out or pull back must think again. We are ready to extend the NATO mandate for as long as is necessary.












David Cameron addresses Parliament.

15.33 Mr Cameron said Britain could not stand by and “watch a pariah state” continues. He paid tribute to the Libyans who had "taken their country back".

Britain could not stand by as Gaddafi slaughtered his people. Nor could we allow a failed pariah state festering on Europe’s southern border, with the potential to threaten our own security.

Mr Cameron said Britain would support the Libyan people in bringing Gaddafi to justice.

This is a man whose crimes are becoming ever more apparent every day and who is wanted by the International Criminal Court. There must be no bolt-hole; no pampered hiding place from justice.
He must face the consequences of his actions, under international and Libyan law.

15.30 David Cameron is about to address the House of Commons.

14.25 Members of Col Gaddafi's entourage, including his internal security chief Mansour Daw, have crossed the border into Niger, a Tuareg source has said.

The identity of the other individuals, believed to number around ten, who arrived in the northern Niger city of Agadez, escorted by a top Tuareg rebel leader, was not immediately known, AFP reports.

14.00 Despite the Libyan economy being ravaged by war, it is stable, with inflation under control and no insurmountable problems, the country's interim economics minister has claimed.

Despite severe shortages of fuel, water and labour, Abdullah Shamia said the inflation rate remained under double digits, with no sign of price increases that could decimate household finances and cripple the country's economic recovery.

According to AFP (Via the Egyptian Gazette) he told reporters in Tripoli.

"The general economy is relatively stable. Prices are generally stable, there is no hyper-inflation although there are price increases for some goods."












David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris last week for the conference on Libya. On Monday the PM's spokeman said the Gibon's inquiry was "well placed" to look at new torture allegations.

13.45 Jack Straw, who was Foreign Secretary at the time of some of the events discussed in the documents.

Asked about the torture claims, told BBC Radio 4's World at One:

These allegations must be examined in very great detail by the inquiry under Sir Peter Gibson. It is very important that they should be.

The position of successive British governments, not least when I was Foreign Secretary, was very clear and that was that we were opposed to unlawful rendition, we were opposed to any use of torture or similar methods. Not only did we not agree with it, we were not complicit in it and nor did we turn a blind eye to it."

Mr Straw said that a report by the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee concluded in 2007 that Britain was not involved in unlawful rendition of terror suspects.

But he added: "No Foreign Secretary can know all the details of what intelligence agencies are doing at any one time.

That is why it is important that these allegations are thoroughly examined by Sir Peter Gibson's inquiry."

13.30 Ukraine has said that Libya's new rulers detained 23 of its citizens who had been working in the oil sector, reportedly on suspicion they were snipers for fallen leader Moamer Kadhafi.

Foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Voloshyn, quoted by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, described those detained as "civilian specialists" working in the oil sector.

Unfortunately, we must confirm that 23 Ukrainian citizens have been detained in Libya.

13.35 Following on from Chris Hope and Mary Riddell's scoop this morning, quoting DPP Kei Starmer as saying he wants the Yvonne Fletcher suspect tried at the Old Bailey, Paul Waugh, editor of Politicshome.com, tweets:

"Ex-DPP Lord MacDonald says Yvonne Fletcher killer shd be tried at OldBailey. Adds "it could happen'."

13.30 Tripoli rebels sport Hollywood looks despite the chaos, as fighters enjoy their moment in the limelight while not forgetting to look good for the cameras, reports the BBC, in an interesting feature.

13.20 Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan President, has said the best thing for Col Gaddafi would be for him to die fighting after he was asked if he would give asylum to the Libyan leader.

Chavez, speaking on state television, said he thought Qaddafi is “probably” still in Libya and that he will “resist until the end", according to Bloomberg.

13.15 NATO's mission in Libya has moved significantly closer to success and will end soon, the military alliance's secretary general said on Monday.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a news conference in Brussels that while he could not give a precise date for the mission's end, "I believe it will come soon".

Our operation to protect civilians has moved significantly closer to success, but we are not there yet.

13.00 Further to Rob Crilly's analysis earlier (0955), Col Ahmed Omar Bani now says he believes Gaddafi has fled the country. It comes as rebel reinforcements arrived outside one of Col Gaddafi's last strongholds in Libya, even as the forces arrayed against the toppled dictator gave the town a chance to surrender and avoid a fight.

Thousands of rebels have converged on the desert town of Bani Walid, southeast of Tripoli as the dictator remains on the run.












Anti-Gaddafi fighters stand on an SA-5 SAM missile in Burkan air defence military base, 70 kms from Bani Walid.

12.40 The United Nations is ready to assist Libya's new authorities in their preparations for elections, UN envoy Ian Martin told reporters in Tripoli on Monday.

The special adviser to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Tripoli on Saturday for talks with the local authorities on how the United Nations can help them in the months ahead.

He landed at a military airbase in the capital, after the UN chief said the world body was ready to assist in re-establishing security following the nearly seven-month uprising that ousted Col Gaddafi.

He said it was "too soon for details" on how the transition would unfold as decisions regarding the electoral system, the establishment of an electoral commission and other technical details have yet to be determined, AFP reports (Via Bangkok Post).

Meanwhile the country faces a key challenge in establishing a law and order system that respects human rights, the UN envoy said.

"One of the most important challenges is the full restoration of public security in the hands of a police force which in future will respect human rights rather than be part of a system that violates human rights," he said.

Another priority, he said, would be the reform of the prison system in order to avoid "arbitrary" detentions and ensure those who have committed a crime are prosecuted within a "legal system that protects their rights".

12.30 Jihadists among the Libyan rebels revealed plans last week on the Internet to subvert the post-Moammar Gaddafi government and create an Islamist state, according to U.S. intelligence agencies.

U.S. officials said spy agencies are stepping up surveillance of Islamist-oriented elements among Libyan rebels.

The Washington Times reported that a government report, circulated last week, said extremists were observed “strategising” on Internet forums about how to set up an Islamist state in Libya after the regime of Col Gaddafi is defeated. The unclassified report stated:

Several forum participants have suggested that, following a transitional stage, the battle should turn against secularist rebels and members of the [rebels’] Transitional National Council.












12.06 An inquiry looking into allegations of UK complicity in the mistreatment of terror suspects today announced it will consider fresh claims relating to links between Britain's intelligence and security services and Libya.

Documents discovered in Tripoli following the fall of Col Muammar Gaddafi's dictatorial regime appear to suggest that the UK traded information with Libya in return for intelligence extracted from terror suspects under interrogation in Libyan prisons.

Prime Minister David Cameron's official spokesman this morning said that Sir Peter Gibson's inquiry was "well-placed" to look into the new allegations.

And the Gibson Inquiry - initially set up to look at cases of British nationals held at Guantanamo Bay - released a statement to say that it will "be considering allegations of UK involvement in rendition to Libya as part of our work".

Mr Cameron is expected to be questioned about the links of MI5 and MI6 with the Gaddafi regime when he addresses the House of Commons on Libya this afternoon.

12.05 Major General Nick Pope, the Chief of the Defence Staff’s Communications Officer, said in an emailed statement:

British aircraft were again in action yesterday over Libya, as part of NATO’s Operation Unified Protector, mounting a long range mission against Sebha and conducting strikes on Qadhafi’s troops at Sirte.

A formation of Royal Air Force Tornado GR4s took off from RAF Marham in Norfolk on Sunday, and, flying south to the Mediterranean, rendezvoused with allied aircraft to lead a long range strike mission against a group of military communications installations that form a key part of the former regime’s major headquarters complex at Sebha, in the Sahara.

The RAF aircraft launched a large salvo of highly accurate Storm Shadow stand-off missiles against their targets. Meanwhile, RAF Tornados and Typhoons based in Italy at Gioia del Colle helped NATO maintain armed reconnaissance patrols over Sirte, and during the evening our aircraft successfully attacked an ammunition depot nearby, as well as a self-propelled artillery piece and an armed pick-up truck, using Paveway and Brimstone guided weapons.

11.20 The Gaddafi regime warned of 'holy war' if Lockerbie bomber died in Scottish jail, reports Thomas Harding. The dictator warned Whitehall officials that Britain would face the retribution of "holy war" if the Lockerbie bomber died in prison.

Other documents found in the abandoned British embassy in Tripoli show concerns that there would be "dire consequences" for relations if Abdelbaset al–Megrahi died in his Scottish jail cell. He was released in August 2009.












Rebel reinforcements from Tripoli go through a checkpoint between Tarhouna and Bani Walid (Picture: AP)

11.15 Ukraine said it is checking reports that the newly-empowered rebels in Libya have arrested 19 Ukrainians on suspicion of acting as mercenary snipers for Col Gaddafi's regime.

The group, who are being held in Tripoli, have strongly denied the allegations. They insist they were simply expatriates working in the Libyan energy sector before the fall of Kadhafi's regime.

Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Voloshyn told the AFP news agency:

We are checking this information. The Ukrainian embassy in Tripoli is in contact with the local authorities.

11.10 Many in Manchester's community of about 5,000 Libya exiles now now making plans to go back and help directly in what may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reverse decades of decay in their oil-rich, underdeveloped homeland.

Hundreds have also sent aid, or seen their husbands and brothers go back to join the uprising as Libyan exiles expect better days, the AP reports (Via Yahoo!).

These are some of the high hopes held by Libyan exiles and their supporters in Manchester, home of Britain's largest Libyan community, and in other English cities now that Col Gaddafi is on the run and his power gone.

11.00 Col Gaddafi's dictatorship likely wouldn't have survived for more than four decades without the sea of dictators all around, protecting one another and working together to silence dissident voices, the AP say in a feature (Via MSNBC) about how he "leaned on Arab allies to stay in power".

10.55 A pragmatic Rob Crilly, usually based in Pakistan tweets: "Getting to the stage where I might have to start looking into where I can watch the rugby world cup in Benghazi."

10.45 Libyan forces are awaiting orders to storm a desert town held by pro-Gaddafi fighters after negotiations failed to dislodge them from one of the deposed leader's remaining bastions.

Military units under Libya's interim council are trying to winkle out of Bani Walid as well as the coastal city of Sirte and a swathe of territory stretching far into the desert interior, Reuters reports.

Mohammed al-Fassi, a field commander for the National Transitional Council (NTC), said outside the town.

The door is still open for negotiations. Our offer still stands.

The offer is that people who committed crimes in Gaddafi's name will be put under house arrest until the new government is formed. Some of them have accepted this but others said no.












Rebel fighter Abdul Multab practices shooting at a checkpoint between Tarhouna and Bani Walid.

10.40 Rebel reinforcements are arriving outside one of Col Gaddafi's last strongholds in Libya, even as the forces arrayed against the toppled dictator give the town a chance to surrender and avoid a fight.

Thousands of rebels surround Bani Walid, a desert town southeast of the capital, AP reports.

A small rebel convoy arrived Monday at a checkpoint about 40 miles from Bani Walid. Ismail al-Gitani says the fighters were part of a larger force he commands and that he was ordered to reinforce the northern approaches to Bani Walid.

He refused to say how many fighters he had brought. Another rebel commander, Mohammed al-Fassi, says the door is still open for negotiations over the town's surrender

10.30 The BBC's Nick Lawrence Tweets that there are "no plans for any official comment from #MI6 regarding their collusion with the #Gaddafi regime. #libya"

10.20 Further to our post at 9.25 Prof Philippe Sands QC, director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals at University College London, said the veracity of the information in the papers remained to be determined.

But it was "an indication of high-level British involvement in the transportation of an individual from one area, Hong Kong, to Libya, directly or indirectly, and that plainly raises the most serious concerns about compatibility with English law".

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme:

The real heart of this issue is the question of who knew what when and who signed off when. And when we get intelligence sources saying there was high ministerial sign off as early as March 2003, the question really arises: who signed off?

On the legislation that applied at that point, this would have to have been signed off either by the Foreign Secretary, the Home Secretary or Number 10. The inquiry that has been set up under Sir Peter Gibson is really going to have to get to grips with this.












Abdelhakim Belhadj head of the Tripoli Military Council in the post revolutionary Libyan government was claimed to have been tortured.

Kim Howells, a former chairman of the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, said officials had been satisfied, after its own extensive inquiries, that there had been no illegal activity by UK intelligence services.

He also told the programme:

When we looked very, very hard at these allegations of rendition we did not find that the intelligence services were guilty,.
We were absolutely satisfied that there had been no involvement in illegal rendition of detainees by the British intelligence services and I don't believe that they did that.












Thousands of abandoned anti-personnel mines, loose and in crates, lie in a disused industrial area close to the Khamis Brigade Barracks on the outskirts of Tripoli (Picture: HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY)

10.05 China has offered huge stockpiles of weapons to Col Moamer Gaddafi during the final months of his regime and held secret talks on shipping them through Algeria and South Africa, it was claimed.

State-controlled Chinese arms companies were ready to sell weapons and ammunition worth at least $200 million (£124.02 million) to him in late July, despite UN sanctions.

The claims were made in secret documents obtained by Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper.

Omar Hariri, chief of the transitional council's military committee, reviewed the documents and concluded they explained the presence of new weapons on the battlefield.

Beijing later denied it provided the Gaddafi regime with weapons in its final days, but said Libyan officials had visited China in July for talks with "interested companies".

10.10 Following on from that story Richard Spencer has discovered a huge Gaddafi weapons dump left unguarded in the capital, Tripoli.












Khamis Gaddafi, the Libyan leader's most feared son, has been confirmed dead, according to the NTC.

10.00 Libya's rebel leaders say they were certain that Khamis Gaddafi, the youngest son of the vanquished dictator, was dead after a week of rumours that he had been killed in a heavily armed convoy close to the town of Tarhouna, south-east of Tripoli.

If true, his death would be the highest-profile casualty among regime loyalists and a bitter blow to the besieged Gaddafi strongholds of Sirte and Bani Walid.

Rebel leaders had avoided publicly confirming the death of Khamis for fear of repeating their humiliation when they claimed to have captured another son, Saif al-Islam, before he re-emerged barely 24 hours late.

09.55 Here is some interesting analysis from Rob Crilly, our man in Benghazi.

If you wanted to give Colonel Gaddafi every chance to escape, here's what you would do:

Sweep into Tripoli in a disordered rabble, failing to secure entry and exit points, charging straight for his fortified compound, then - with the enemy on the run - stop, hold your positions and negotiate for each further loyalist stronghold in a stop-start process that is still under way a fortnight later.

That is pretty much where we are today. If you wanted me to place a bet, I'd put money on Gaddafi already having left the country.












Tony Blair meets Libyan leader Col Gaddafi at his desert base outside Sirte south of Tripoli in 2007.

09.50 Chief negotiator Abdullah Kanshil says talks between Bani Walid's tribal elders and representatives from Libya's interim government have ended without agreement.

Forces of Libya's interim ruling council are poised for an assault on the desert town of Bani Walid, after negotiators failed to persuade Muammar Gaddafi loyalists to abandon one of their last remaining bastions.

The town is one of just a handful of areas in Libya still under the control of Gaddafi loyalists after a six-month rebellion ousted the leader from Tripoli last month. Outside the town, a negotiator for the National Transitional Council forces now in control of the country said talks with tribal leaders were over, adding that it would be up to the NTC to decide what to do next.

There has been speculation from NTC officials that members of Gaddafi's family, perhaps even the former Libyan leader himself, may be hiding there. No comment was available from the other side.

09.45 Chief negotiator Abdullah Kanshil says talks between Bani Walid's tribal elders and representatives from Libya's interim government have ended without agreement.



09.35 As his morning briefing returns, Benedict Brogan, our Deputy Editor, notes that one question David Cameron might want to address with his statement on Libya is what the Government is doing to investigate the links between MI6, the British Government and Colonel Gaddafi's regime in Libya.

This Government obviously cannot be blamed for these queasy links, but the depth of cooperation might make it hard to ignore the issue, especially as more documents emerge from Gaddafi's still-smouldering palaces.

09.32 David Cameron, the Prime Minister, will update MPs on the situation in Libya in an oral statement to the House of Commons at 3.30pm today.

09.30 Britain's top prosecutor has said he wants the chief suspect in the WPc Yvonne Fletcher murder case to be tried in the Old Bailey. Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said that in his view "the case should be tried here in London".

However, Mr Starmer, who heads up the Crown Prosecution Service, said that more evidence was needed before any charges could be made in the case.












Yvonne Fletcher and Matouk Mohammed Matouk.

09.25 MI6 rewarded Libyan intelligence for their co-operation after ties between the countries were restored with the "rendition" of the leader of an opposition group who later claimed he was tortured in custody, documents found in Tripoli show.

A senior officer in MI6 wrote a congratulatory letter to Moussa Koussa, then head of Libyan foreign intelligence and later foreign minister, on the safe arrival from Malaysia thanks to British and American intelligence of a man known as Abu Abdallah Sadiq.

That is the nom de guerre of the leader of the then banned Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, Abdelhakim Belhadj, who is now head of the Tripoli Military Council in the post-revolutionary Libyan government and a key western ally.

The letter, from Mark Allen, head of counter-terrorism at MI6, said:

This was the least we could do for you and for Libya to demonstrate the remarkable relationship we have built over recent years.

I am so glad. I was grateful to you for helping the officer we sent out last week.

09.20 Tony Blair's close relationship with one of Col Muammar Gaddafi's sons - Saif al–Islam - who is now being hunted for possible war crimes, is highlighted in previously secret documents discovered in Libya.

Thomas Harding, our defence correspondent, writes that the new evidence, which will further tarnish the former prime minister's image following his dealings with Libya, shows that he helped Saif al–Islam Gaddafi on his allegedly plagiarised PhD thesis.












09.15 Our main Libya story this morning is one from Richard Spencer, our man in Tripoli.

He writes that secret files found in a Tripoli intelligence service building have disclosed an Alleged Libyan extremist who sought political asylum in Britain regularly travelled to Iran from 2002 to provide forged documents to extremists linked to al-Qaeda.

The documents, seen by The Daily Telegraph, unearth British intelligence suspicions about links between Iran and al-Qaeda dating back almost a decade.

Other details to come out of the documents, sent by MI6 and found in the office of the former head of foreign intelligence and later foreign minister Moussa Koussa, who defected in March, include the revelation that Britain had begun co-operating with the Chinese security services on Islamic extremists.

09.10 Good morning all. Welcome to our live coverage of Libya on Monday, September 5.