Cameron: Gaddafi should go now
Prime minister David Cameron said after the rescue operations in Libya:
“I’m sure everyone will be relieved; good work has been done today and I want to pay tribute to our brave armed forces personnel who carried it out.
“We’ve had three Hercules that have gone into the eastern desert area and they have brought back British nationals but also many, many others and it was a mission not without its difficulties. Also today we’ve seen HMS Cumberland pick up more people in Bhengazi and it’s heading back to Malta; again some British but also many, many other nationalities that we’re helping as well. So that is good news; good progress. And now we’re putting serious pressure on the regime.
“We’ve introduced today a travel ban, asset freeze, there’ll be further export measures that will be taken as well in the coming hours. All this sends a very clear message to this regime: it is time for Colonel Gaddafi to go and to go now. There is no future for Libya that includes him.”
“It is risky and it is difficult but I judged it was the right thing to do because there are British citizens spread out across those oil platforms particularly in the eastern desert area in Libya. We need to get those people home, we need to do safely, we can do so helping other nationalities at the same time. Obviously Libya is a country in complete chaos and so it is difficult to arrange these things, but it was the right thing to do and I pay tribute to the very brave pilots and armed services personnel who managed to help so many British citizens back to safety. And I’m delighted they’ve been able to do that. That is part of what needs to be done. The next part is real pressure on this regime, the asset freeze, the travel ban, the measures we’re taking against the regime to show just how isolated they are. A very clear message tonight that it’s time for Colonol Gaddafi to go; he should go now and Libya’s future has no future with him at the helm – absolutely none.”
