UK expels Gaddafis diplomats, recognises rebels

Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UK will ask the National Transitional Council (NTC) of Libya to appoint a new diplomatic envoy.He said recognising the NTC could help "legally in the unfreezing of some assets".

The NTC had shown its commitment to a "more open and democratic Libya... in stark contrast to (Muammar) Gaddafi whose brutality against the Libyan people has stripped him of all legitimacy", Hague said at a press conference.

He said the UK would now deal with the NTC "on the same basis as other governments around the world". Hague said: "We no longer recognise them as the representatives of the Libyan government and we are inviting the National Transitional Council to appoint a new Libyan diplomatic envoy to take over the Libyan embassy in London".

The Foreign Office said the charge d`affaires, Khaled Benshaban, would be given three days to leave.