Straw praises Libya's WMD move

Gaddafi could be welcomed back to the fold

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has praised Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for agreeing to give up his weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programmes.

Mr Straw echoed Tony Blair's applause for the move by describing it as "courageous" and saying it could pave the way for the ending of US sanctions.

Nine months of secret negotiations with the West began after a deal agreed on compensation to Lockerbie bomb victims.

Experts were given access to chemical and biological weapons programmes.

They discovered Libya was close to developing a nuclear weapons capability.

Colonel Gaddafi's commitment, once fulfilled, will make our country more safe and our world more peaceful George W Bush US President Libya widely praised

Mr Straw told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "This is an initiative taken by Col Gaddafi and he needs to be applauded in unqualified terms for what he has done.

"He has shown huge statesmanship in doing this.

"We all know Libya's history but you judge people on their conduct and, knowing as I do the course of these negotiations, I think it is both statesmanlike and courageous, the steps that he and his government have taken."

A spokesman for the families of British people killed in the Lockerbie bombing, welcomed the development as a chance to salvage some good from the atrocity.

Benefits

Jim Swire, whose daughter died in the bombing, said: "I think the announcements in the last couple of days show he's taking very seriously the desire to get back as a normally accepted member of the community of nations.

"We think that would be to everyone's benefit, not just to the Libyans, but to everyone in the human race, really."

Prime Minister Tony Blair made the surprise announcement on Friday night and said: "This courageous decision by Colonel Gaddafi is an historic one. I applaud it. "

Libya approached the UK in March after concluding negotiations over compensation for the families of those killed by the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie.

Straw said US sanctions are likely to end

Mr Straw suggested the toppling of Saddam Hussein following the invasion of Iraq may have prompted Libya to act.

He said he hoped Iran's signing of a non-proliferation protocol earlier this week would lead to the dismantling of illicit weapons developed by Tehran.

The Foreign Secretary paid tribute to the UK's "painstaking diplomacy" over six or seven years in trying to bring Libya back in from the cold.

Rewards

Colonel Gaddafi said in a statement his country wanted to take the lead "in building a new world free of weapons of mass destruction and all kinds of terrorism, with the aim of preserving international peace and security and progress for humanity".

Libyan officials in Tripoli are now expected to co-operate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in a transparent and verifiable process of disarmament and inspections.

In a speech in Washington on Friday night, US President George Bush promised Libya's "good faith" would be rewarded.

Although the UN ended its sanctions in September, the US has retained its embargo.