William Hague announces expulsion guardian.co.uk

Britain is expelling the Libyan chargé d'affaires and all eight remaining Libyan embassy staff in London after David Cameron and William Hague ruled that Libya's national transitional council (NTC) was now the "sole governmental authority" in the country.

The chargé was summoned to a meeting at the Foreign Office, where he was given three days to leave Britain.

Other diplomats at the Libyan People's Bureau, in Knightsbridge – which has been under heavy police guard since the launch of the military campaign in March – have been told to leave over the course of the summer.

Hague announced the expulsions at a Foreign Office press conference on Wednesday as he invited the NTC to nominate an ambassador and other diplomats to take over the Libyan mission.

The foreign secretary said: "The prime minister and I have decided that the United Kingdom recognises and will deal with the national transitional council as the sole governmental authority in Libya.

"This decision reflects the national transitional council's increasing legitimacy, competence and success in reaching out to Libyans across the country.

"Through its actions, the national transitional council has shown its commitment to a more open and democratic Libya, something that it is working to achieve in an inclusive political process. This is in stark contrast to Gaddafi, whose brutality against the Libyan people has stripped him of all legitimacy."

Hague said Britain – which has temporarily closed its embassy in Tripoli – now runs its largest diplomatic mission in north Africa after Cairo in the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi. This will be designated as an embassy if the NTC requests an upgrade.

The decision to recognise the NTC as sole governmental authority led to the unfreezing of £91m in UK assets belonging to the Arabian Gulf Oil Company, a Libyan oil firm under the NTC's control.

Foreign Office sources said the assets were unfrozen after the NTC gave assurances that the funds would be used to purchase fuel and not arms, which would be illegal under UN security council resolutions.

Hague also announced at his press conference that:

• The appearance on Libyan television of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, showed it had been a mistake by the Scottish justice minister to release him in 2009.

• Britain only decided to recognise the NTC after it was certain that Libyan students in Britain, who are funded by their embassy, would continue to be supported.

• No deadline has been set for the military campaign against the Gaddafi regime. British military chiefs have advised ministers they can continue with the bombing indefinitely.

The decision to recognise an opposition group is a rare step for Britain, which declined to follow the example of the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, who recognised the NTC at the start of the conflict.

Britain said at the time it could not recognise the NTC because it recognises states rather than governments.

It decided to relax its position after the international Libya contact group decided at a recent meeting in Istanbul "to deal with the national transitional council ... as the legitimate governing authority in Libya".

A Foreign Office source said Britain would continue to abide by the convention by which it recognises states rather than governments, saying: "These are exceptional circumstances. It was an anomaly that we had these people here still representing Gaddafi.

"We dragged in the chargé d'affaires. He and his colleagues are now packing their bags."

Hague, who appeared to indicate earlier this week that Britain was more relaxed about Gaddafi's personal future, made it clear that it would be better if he left Libya. The foreign secretary said, however, that Britain could not dictate the outcome of a political settlement to the Libyan people.

"Let's point out though, at the same time, that the view of the chairman of the NTC is that any successful political settlement does involve Gaddafi leaving Libya and that is what we continue to say is the best solution," he said.

"So don't make any mistake about that, but we're saying we can't impose that or guarantee that."

Hague also said Britain was committed to ensuring that Gaddafi faces justice before the international criminal court.

The foreign secretary denied that discussions about Gaddafi were part of a back channel communication with the regime, but did not deny that such a channel existed.

The renewed diplomatic offensive comes as British aircraft stepped up the bombing against Gaddafi's security and intelligence apparatus before the start of Ramadan on 1 August.