Page 124 - Once a copper 10 03 2020

surrounded the embassy, believing Fletcher’s killer was inside. Then the SAS
were called in, raising public expectations that the building would be
stormed.

But fifteen thousand miles away in Tripoli, the British embassy had also been
surrounded by the Libyan police.

“It was probably the greatest crisis I faced in my career. At that time, Gaddafi
was a complete wild card. There were thousands of Britons working in Libya
who were potential hostages. We had no idea what he would do,” Lord
Brittan said.

With weapons drawn in two continents, who would blink first?

The stand-off was only resolved once the British government agreed that the
Libyans inside the embassy could go home without questioning from the
police.

“I felt that this was one of those occasions when you have to suppress
personal feelings and outrage against the consideration of what really in the
national interest,” said Lord Brittan.

Following the evidence of one eye witness, it was possible to reconstruct
movements to explain how Baghdadi and Matouk were alleged to have
played key roles in the hours before the murder.

First, Baghdadi was seen on the ground floor of the embassy, giving
instructions to pro-Gaddafi students who were going to hold a demonstration
to counter the one planned by el-Gamaty.

At one point, the eye witness says Baghdadi told the group where to stand to
avoid being shot and to run away after the shooting. He saw Baghdadi and
Matouk on the first floor of the embassy just forty-five minutes before Yvonne
Fletcher was shot. This is very significant because forensic tests proved the
shooting came from this floor and access to this part of the embassy was
restricted to only a handful of senior Libyan diplomats.

Afterwards, the eye witness believes
Baghdadi and Matouk went downstairs to
tell the students to start the demonstration,
setting in motion the sequence of events
which would culminate in Yvonne Fletcher’s
death. The report’s very existence poses
some awkward questions for the British
government. Not least: if there is enough
evidence to prosecute these two men, why Figure 55 Order of service for the annual tribute
have they never been charged? held in memory of Yvonne. Page124