UK paying ‘bribes’ to free trapped Britons

Britain has been buying off Libyan officials with hefty additional fees in order to expedite the troubled evacuation of UK nationals, according to senior government figures.

The revelations over the demands for what one senior figure described as “bribes” underlines the problems faced by the government as it oversees a rescue effort that has been criticised as inadequate, poorly co-ordinated and slow.

Speaking in Downing Street after a specially convened meeting of the National Security Council and Cobra emergency planning committee, David Cameron stressed the government was doing “everything we can” to help the 200 British citizens still stranded.

The cabinet has come under intense fire over its efforts to help British nationals, which have been beset by technical problems and a perceived lack of leadership.

Mr Cameron, who returned on Thursday from an official tour of the Gulf, is seeking to reassert his authority over Whitehall planning while Nick Clegg, deputy prime minister, cut short a holiday to attend the meetings.

About 500 Britons have been evacuated from Libya and the government focus is now on those who are stuck in oil facilities in the desert or other remote places that prevent them from reaching Tripoli.

“In the last 24 hours there have been six flights that have left Libya and that is good, and there will be more on the way if necessary. HMS Cumberland has now come out of Benghazi, bringing many, many British citizens out of Benghazi and we have also helped citizens of 25 other countries,” Mr Cameron said.

“I have also asked HMS York to go into the area and help out if necessary. But I would say that people do need to leave now and that is the message that I give very strongly to British citizens in Libya. For those in the desert, we will do everything we can and we are active on that right now to help get you out.”

Fees paid to permit British chartered aircraft to land or take-off from Tripoli airport have sharply increased in recent days, which some government officials fear may be a response to Mr Cameron’s tougher rhetoric against the regime.

The Foreign Office categorically denied the depiction of the payments as “bribes”. But it confirmed that fees were paid to facilitate the evacuation. The revelation is an embarrassment for the government, not least because the longstanding official policy is never to pay bribes.

The Foreign Office said: “We categorically deny accusations earlier that British officials have paid “bribes” to Libyan officials.

“Officials at Tripoli airport charge fees for services, such as aircraft handling. These charges are applied to all countries and carriers seeking to fly in or out of Tripoli airport.

“In the current situation, these fees have increased. Like those countries and carriers, we have had to pay them – the alternative being to leave hundreds of British nationals stranded in Tripoli. Paying charges levied by the authorities at a foreign airport is not bribery.”

Mr Cameron has called for a range of punitive economic measures against the ailing Libyan regime, including sanctions, travel bans and asset seizures. However Britain has stopped short of backing the imposition of a no-fly zone for Libya, primarily for practical reasons.

“This is probably not the right time. We want the planes to be flying out of Libya,” said one Whitehall official.

Mr Cameron has apologised for the early response to the crisis, saying he was “extremely sorry” to those British nationals facing difficulties leaving Libya.