From the London Observer
(Sunday supplement of the Guardian
Unlimited)
Dated Sunday December 21
Libya spies' secret deal to reveal terrorists
· Gadaffi joined war on terror to lift crippling sanctions
· Expelled envoy led talks on banned arms programmes
By Peter Beaumont, Martin Bright and Kamal Ahmed
Libya provided detailed intelligence on hundreds of al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremists as part of a deal to end its isolation as a pariah nation, The Observer can reveal.
The disclosure came as Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George Bush yesterday celebrated a diplomatic triumph following Friday night's dramatic announcement that Libya had renounced its weapons of mass destruction programme.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw praised the Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gadaffi for his 'huge statesmanship' in striking the deal over WMD.
But the real prize for London and Washington for two years of intense negotiation was access to material from one of the world's most formidable and feared intelligence organisations, The Observer can reveal.
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