The Thatcher government and the Libyan campaign against dissidents in the United Kingdom, 1979-84

Between 1979 and 1984, the Libyan regime of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi waged a campaign of violence against exiled dissidents resident in Britain. The campaign included assassinations, bombings, arson and an attempted poisoning. It culminated in the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher who was policing an anti-Qaddafi demonstration outside the Libyan Embassy in London in April 1984. This campaign posed serious dilemmas for the Thatcher government. On the one hand, it had to ensure law and order. On the other, Britain had significant interests in Libya which it wanted to protect, including an important export market and the safety of the British expatriate community. In addition, the Libyan threat to renew support for the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) if the government did not suppress dissidents added another security dimension to the problem. The government sought to tread a middle line, emphasising its responsibility to ensure law and order while at the same time maintaining contact with the Libyan regime. Internationally, the government found itself more aligned with its EEC partners than with the United States, which adopted a tough anti-Qaddafi line. This approach broke down in April 1984 with the severing of diplomatic relations after the murder of WPC Fletcher.