William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, ordered the explusion of two Libyan diplomats from its London embassy as he travelled to Rome to demand heavier military bombardment of Col Muammar Gaddafi's regime.
Hillary Clinton meets members of the Libyan Contact Group at the foreign ministry in Rome Photo: EPA
By Rosa Prince, and Nick Squires in Rome 5:47PM BST 05 May 2011
Mr Hague called for the beginning of a final push to topple the beleagured regime in Tripoli, more than seven weeks after a UN Security Council resolution authorised military action to protect civilians. "The tempo of military activity should continue to be increased, as it has been increasing in recent days," Mr Hague said. "A great deal has been achieved. Probably thousands of lives have been saved. We now need to intensify that in order to push through to a successful outcome."
Rebels seeking to overthrow Col Gaddafi said that they needed an additional $3 million (£1.8 million) in loans to continue their battle.
Downing Street insisted the UK would not provide further funds, having already given generously. In a press conference, Hillary Clinton, the United States Secretary of State, said the allies would seek to create a "financial mechanism" to help the rebels.
The Foreign Office refused to comment on the behaviour which led to the expulsion of the two diplomats and their dependants, but it is understood that they are suspected of seeking to intimidate pro-opposition Libyans living in Britain.
In a statement, Mr Hague said that the expulsion was part of a move to step up the diplomatic pressure on Gaddafi, and that the diplomats and their families had until Wednesday to leave the country.
He added: "I ordered the expulsion of the two diplomats on the basis that their activities were contrary to the interests of the UK.
"We keep the status of the Libyan Embassy and its staff under constant review. I judged that the behaviour of these individuals had become unacceptable, and that they should therefore be declared persona non grata."
Last week, Omar Jelban the Libyan Ambassador, was given 24 hours to leave the country in retaliation for attacks on the British embassy in Tripoli.
The attack by crowds of Gaddafi supporters on the British mission followed a NATO air raid on Tripoli that the Libyan government said had killed the dictator's youngest son and three of his grandchildren.
Libya's rebel leadership outlined a political "roadmap" to international powers to be enacted if Col Gaddafi leaves power that would lead to presidential elections within eight months.
Mahmud Jibril, the head of the rebel Transitional National Council (TNC) said the first step would be a national congress to create a new constitution for Libya within 45 days of Kadhafi leaving power.
A referendum would be held on the constitution and parliamentary elections would then be organised within four months. Two months after that, there would be presidential elections, Jibril said.
The government that would oversee this entire process would be made up of members of the opposition council, technocrats from Gaddafi's regime, senior military and intelligence officers and a judge.
At the meeting of the Contact Group of allies participating in the action in Libya, international foreign ministers from more than 20 countries discussed the problem of financing the TNC.
Efforts to unblock Libyan state assets frozen in overseas bank accounts, or to allow the rebels to sidestep United Nation sanctions which prevent them from selling oil, have stalled.
Mrs Clinton said: "We'll be discussing a financial mechanism; we'll be discussing other forms of aid.
"I will be formally announcing our non-lethal assistance so I think that there is an effort with urgency to meet the requests that the TNC is making."
Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, said Washington would throw the rebels a financial lifeline by freeing up some of the more than $30 billion it has frozen in Libyan assets.
The Obama administration wants "to tap some portion of those assets owned by Gaddafi and the Libyan government in the United States, so we can make those funds available to help the Libyan people," Mrs Clinton said.
The contact group agreed to created a temporary fund to assist the rebels, which should be in operation within weeks. France and Italy said they would take turns managing the rebel fund, but Alain Juppe, the French foreign minister, warned that the unblocking of assets “poses legal problems”.
Franco Frattini, his Italian counterpart said $250 million (£152 million) was already available in immediate humanitarian aid - far less than the figure of up to $3 billion the rebels claim they desperately need.
Mr Frattini, the Italian foreign minister, who hosted the meeting, said the international community must not allow Libya to become "a playground for Gaddafi's mercenaries."
He said the coalition needed to convince more senior officials to defect from Col Gaddafi's government.
It was the second meeting of the Contact Group after a similar gathering in Doha, Qatar, last month.
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