News story

Qadhafi defeat "only a matter of time"

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said it is "only a matter of time" before Colonel Muammar Qadhafi is defeated.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

After chairing a meeting of the National Security Council, the Deputy Prime Minister said the reappearance in Tripoli of Saif Al-Islam was “not the sign of some great comeback for the Qadhafi regime”.

However, he did acknowledged there would be “frustrations and setbacks” before the regime fell.

“Our assessment is that Free Libya forces now control much, but not all, of Tripoli.

“Yes, there will be frustrations and setbacks but the remaining remnants of the Qadhafi regime are now cornered. It’s only a matter of time before they are finally defeated and Libya is completely free.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister spoke outside Downing Street and stressed the situation in Libya was very fluid and that their was no room for complacency.

The Prime Minister also said the transition to a free and democratic Libya should be a “Libyan-led and Libyan-owned process”.

Published 23 August 2011