Britain is prepared to agree to a political settlement in Libya that would see Muammar Gaddafi remain in the country after relinquishing his hold on power, the foreign secretary, William Hague, has said.

As British aircraft step up the bombing against Gaddafi's security and intelligence apparatus before the arrival of Ramadan on 1 August, Hague said the focus should be on ensuring that the Libyan leader leaves power. Speaking at a press conference in London Monday with his French counterpart Alain Juppé, who has been more relaxed about Gaddafi's personal future, Hague said it was up to the Libyan people to decide his future.

"What happens to Gaddafi is ultimately a question for the Libyans," Hague said. "It is for the Libyan people to determine their own future. Whatever happens, Gaddafi must leave power.

"He must never again be able to threaten the lives of Libyan civilians nor to destabilise Libya once he has left power.

"Obviously, leaving Libya itself would be the best way of showing the Libyan people they no longer have to live in fear of Gaddafi. But as I have said all along, this is ultimately a question for Libyans to determine."

British sources said that Hague was not denoting a shift in British thinking because ministers have maintained from the start of the military action in March that the future of Libya will be decided by its own people.

But on 28 February, a few weeks before the launch of the air campaign, David Cameron told MPs that Gaddafi must go. "We should be clear that for the future of Libya and its people, Colonel Gaddafi's regime must end and he must leave," he said at the time.

Libyan rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil has said Gaddafi and his family could stay in the country if they gave up power. His concession, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, reflects those by Nato governments, including Britain and France, which are now suggesting Gaddafi might not be arraigned before the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague for war crimes.

Juppé said Britain and France were in agreement in demanding that Gaddafi relinquish power. But the French foreign minister was more relaxed about Gaddafi's personal future. "On Libya, since the beginning, we have been engaged in the same operation with the same goal which is to allow the Libyan people to achieve liberty and democracy. We are clear that the goal must be that Gaddafi must give up power and all his military and civil responsibilities and then it is for the Libyan people to decide what their fate is: will it be within or outside Libya?

"We are continuing to work on this. We are keeping up the military pressure and co-operating with the Libyan transitional council," he added.

Hague and Juppé also appeared to differ on whether Gaddafi should face the ICC. Juppé said it was important to uphold the principle that nobody is immune from prosecution. The transitional council in Libya has indicated that it would send Gaddafi for trial at the ICC.

But Hague indicated that Britain may be prepared to see Gaddafi escape justice. Asked whether Gaddafi could secure immunity from prosecution, the foreign secretary said: "The British government is very in favour of the powers of the ICC and the requirements of the ICC being complied with. So I think you are trying to take us down a hypothetical route."

It is understood that Britain hopes to tempt Gaddafi out of Libya by saying that he can go to a country that does not recognise the ICC.

The talks came as the RAF dropped "precision" weapons on the Central Organisation for Electronic Research, described by the Ministry of Defence as "a cover for the regime's nefarious activities".

It said that until Gaddafi's renunciation of weapons of mass destruction in 2003, the facility was responsible for his long-range missile development programme.

Intensive surveillance by Nato over the past weeks had revealed the building was still being "actively used by his security apparatus to repress the civilian population, and was thus a wholly legitimate target", Major General Nick Pope, Britain's chief military spokesman, said.

The attack on the building came a day after the MoD said RAF aircraft had breached the walls of Gaddafi's command complex in central Tripoli.

"Gaddafi has for decades hidden from the Libyan people behind these walls," said Pope. "The vast Bab al-Aziziyah compound is not just his personal residence but more importantly is also the main headquarters for his regime."