By IRNA,
London : Foreign Secretary William Hague is to make a statement in parliament later Monday following the embarrassing failure in sending a clandestine team to Libya to meet rebel groups.
Hague confirmed on Sunday that the team, reportedly made up of two MI6 intelligence officers and six elite SAS soldiers, had left Libya after experiencing “difficulties” when trying to initiate contacts with the opposition rebels in Benghazi.
‘We intend, in consultation with the opposition, to send a further team to strengthen our dialogue in due course,’ he said after reports that the team had been immediately captured by farm guards on Thursday morning.
Former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell admitted that the botched attempt was embarrassing for the British government, saying that outside interference was the “last thing” the people of Libya needed.
‘I think there will be some embarrassment … A lot of effort obviously went into that, and they appear to have come away empty-handed,’ Campbell told Sky News.
The Guardian’s security editor Richard Norton-Taylor said the botched operation in Libya “reveals how official SAS secrecy encourages a gung-ho arrogance” by Britain.
“The ridiculous cloak of invisibility that shrouds the activities of our special forces results in a consequent lack of accountability,” Norton-Taylor further warned.
Hague described it was a “diplomatic effort” that was “part of the UK’s wider work on Libya, including our ongoing humanitarian support.”
Prime Minister David Cameron revealed last week that Britain was seeking to make contact with opposition figures in Libya after backtracking on plans to set up a no-fly zone.
On Saturday, it was also reported that a battalion of 600 British troops was on standby to go to Libya at 24 hours’ despite warnings that the country should not militarily intervene.