Guardian:
British officials are contacting senior Libyan regime figures directly to persuade them to desert Muammar Gaddafi or face trial alongside him for crimes against humanity, the Guardian has learned.
With SAS troops and paratroopers on standby to rescue an estimated 150 Britons at workplaces in the Libyan desert, contingency measures were being drawn up to close the British embassy in Tripoli to pre-empt possible reprisals.
But the Foreign Office denied reports that the embassy would be closed as soon as this weekend. "We will react to the situation as it unfolds on the ground. If it gets too dangerous for our people to be there, of course we will pull them out of there. But are we planning to close the embassy down? No," a spokesman said. The US said it was closing its embassy in Tripoli as well as imposing limited unilateral sanctions on Libya.
The foreign secretary, William Hague, urged Britons still in Tripoli to board the last UK-sponsored chartered flight out of the capital at first light. He said HMS Cumberland would return to Benghazi on Sunday to pick up any remaining Britons there, but added that those in the desert remained Britain's biggest worry. All options were being considered, he said.
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There is much more, but little additional information on the attempts to encourage defections. I think it is a good idea that could speed the conquest of Gaddafi and his entourage. Gaddafi is willing to fight to the last of his Amazon guards.
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