Libya rescue flight breaks down

Libya rescue flight stranded in UK

William Hague has promised to send ‘as many planes as necessary’ to evacuate British nationals from Libya

The Foreign Office is facing embarrassment as its first rescue flight for British nationals stranded in Libya was stuck on the tarmac at Gatwick with a mechanical fault.

With hundreds of Britons waiting to be flown out of Tripoli airport, the Boeing 757 had still not left after 5pm on Wednesday. It had been due to leave at 12.30pm.

The delay came after British nationals and shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander accused the Foreign Office of taking too long to respond to the chaos that has engulfed Libya.

Foreign Secretary William Hague promised to send as many rescue flights to Libya as were needed to evacuate Britons wanting to leave.

Two were due to leave on Wednesday and a third – if necessary – early on Thursday morning.

At least 300 Britons are in and around the Libyan capital Tripoli, while up to 170 more – mainly oil workers – are in remote desert camps at risk of attack as violence continues.

Mr Hague said that, as well as laying charter planes, he was not ruling out the possibility of using military flights “without permission”.

Royal Navy frigate HMS Cumberland is on its way to the Libyan coast to evacuate Britons around the Benghazi area.

But in a statement, Mr Hague insisted: “We are taking every action to get the remaining British nationals in Libya out of harm’s way.”