Tony Blair quizzed by MPs over his relationship with Gaddafi's Libya

Tony Blair has been quizzed by MPs over his relationship with Colonel Gaddafi and Libya during his time as prime minister.

The former Prime Minister mounted a robust defence of his diplomatic relationship with the Libyan dictator, arguing that otherwise his stockpile of illegal armaments - including chemical weapons - could still be in circulation.

Mr Blair also disclosed that he telephoned Gaddafi "two or three" times in 2011 to try to get him to give up power peacefully - but refused to criticise David Cameron for using force to overthrow the regime.

Gaddafi was eventually toppled by Libyan rebels. Credit: Reuters

  • Libyan popular uprising against Gaddafi

The ex-PM confirmed that he had tried to persuade Gaddafi to give up power peacefully during the Arab Spring revolution in 2011.

Mr Blair dismissed claims that he had been trying to "save" Gaddafi during a series of phone conversations in 2011, urging him to agree to a peaceful transition of power.

"They were all to the same effect," the former premier said. "This was all over the space of about 24 hours.

"They were all basically saying there is going to be action unless you come up with an agreed process of change."

Mr Blair said he had spoken to Mr Cameron and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton informing them that he was going to reach out to Gaddafi as a private citizen.

"They were completely non-committal obviously but listened to what I had to say," he added.

"He (Mr Cameron) was perfectly content, without any commitment at all ... for the conversation to happen."

Blair (L) shakes hands with Gaddafi in a tent outside Tripoli in 2004. Credit: Reuters

The Blair government's relationship with the Gaddafi regime was undoubtedly controversial.

Mr Blair famously met Gaddafi in the dictator's desert tent in 2004 after he renounced weapons of mass destruction.

He visited him again in 2007.

The visit helped reintegrate Libya into the international community after years of sanctions over Gaddafi's support for terrorism.

Emails from the account of former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, released earlier this year, suggested that the former Labour leader privately urged Gaddafi to stand aside as rebellion erupted against his regime in 2011.

Mr Blair urged Gaddafi to find "a safe place to go" as part of a "managed" process of political change before the situation reached "the point of no return", according to the emails.

Libyan rebels finally overran the capital, Tripoli, in August 2011 and Gaddafi was captured and killed two months later.

Mr Blair said he believed his decision to engage with Libya remained "important" in the present day, after IS - also known as Isil, Isis or Daesh - established a presence in the country in the chaotic circumstances which followed Gaddafi's removal and death in the 2011 revolution.

"Otherwise, we would have had a situation where Libya was continuing to sponsor terrorism, was continuing to develop chemical and nuclear weapons and would have remained isolated in the international community," he said.

The Lockerbie Bombing and the murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher

Yvonne Fletcher was shot during a protest outside the Libyan embassy in 1984. Credit: PA

Mr Blair denied that Libyan involvement in the Lockerbie bombing and the shooting of WPC Yvonne Fletcher had been set aside as part of efforts to bring Gaddafi on side.

"We raised the case of Yvonne Fletcher every time. We did not hold back on Lockerbie and Yvonne Fletcher," he said.

He pointed out that compensation payments for both crimes had been agreed under his Labour government.