Sixteen months after the siege it is clear that the Libyan Embassy in London had become the centre of a unique terror network.
Drawing on an arsenal of weapons in St James 's
Square, Libyan hitmen had, since 1979, been attacking
Gadaffi's enemies in Britain. When in February 1984
Gadaffi publicly ordered an escalation in the merciless hunt for exiled Libyans, it was Libyan 'diplomats' in London who planned new murders.
By early morning on 17 April, authoritative and ominous data could have alerted
Britain's security agencies that the St James 's Square demonstration would end violently. Unfortunately, the intelligence was processed too late.
Reporter
Tom Bower
Producers TOM BOWER and CHRISTOPHER OLGIATI (R)