Yvonne Fletcher suspect’s life as a local dignitary back in former Gaddafi stronghold
Saleh Ibrahim Mabrouk is pictured addressing an audience of city elders at a meeting in Libyan town
THE prime suspect in the murder of WPc Yvonne Fletcher has been tracked down to Libya after the Home Office allowed him to leave the UK and escape a civil law suit.
Saleh Ibrahim Mabrouk has established himself as a dignitary in his home town, a Gaddafi stronghold in the desert about 100 miles from Tripoli. The Sunday Telegraph has obtained a photograph of Mabrouk, sitting comfortably, clutching a microphone and addressing city elders at a meeting last week.
Mabrouk was secretly barred from Britain in January 2019 after spending a decade living in Reading in Berkshire, where he had bought a family home with cash. An investigation by this newspaper showed how he was ordered out of the country by the then home secretary six weeks after a High Court legal action was begun over his alleged complicity in the death of WPc Fletcher.
Mabrouk, a loyal supporter of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, is the only person ever arrested in connection with the murder of WPc Fletcher, who was shot and killed aged 25 while on duty outside the Libyan embassy in central London in 1984. Mabrouk was a senior member of the “revolutionary committee” that ran the embassy at the time.
His expulsion from the UK prevents him appearing in a civil court to face questioning over his alleged involvement in WPc Fletcher’s murder.
Last week, a photograph of him in his home town of Bani Walid was posted on the Twitter feed of a Libyan news organisation. It showed him addressing a small audience. The caption, translated from Arabic, said: “A dialogue of cultural, academic and community activities in the cities of Bani Walid and Tarhuna under the title: ‘Visions of the Present and Future Prospects’.”
John Murray, 64, a retired Metropolitan Police officer who cradled WPc Fletcher as she lay dying and is now bringing the civil claim against Mabrouk, said: “This is all adding salt to the wounds. I had hoped he had returned to Libya in disgrace but the photograph obviously shows that is not the case. He has clearly many friends who are looking after him.”
Matthew Jury, the lawyer with McCue & Partners law firm bringing the claim, said: “While Mabrouk is living freely in Libya and once again apparently taking a role in affairs of state, there is still no justice for WPc Fletcher. The British Government’s apparent attempts to place him beyond the reach of the UK courts are urgently in need of a full and proper inquiry.”
Mabrouk, 62, was expelled from the UK in the immediate aftermath of the embassy shooting at which anti-Gaddafi demonstrators were fired upon on the orders of the regime in Tripoli – but allowed back in 2000 after diplomatic relations were restored by Tony Blair.
The suspect, who settled in Reading in 2009, had been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder WPc Fletcher in 2015, but the case was dropped in 2017 on the grounds of national security.
The Metropolitan Police issued a statement saying detectives believed they had “identified enough material” to bring a prosecution but complained “key material” had not been made available on grounds of “national security”. Mabrouk, who served as education minister under Gaddafi and was regarded as a senior aide, is understood to have received a so-called “comfort” letter that gave him an assurance he would not be prosecuted over WPc Fletcher’s death. He was ordered out of the UK in early 2019 after the then home secretary told him in a letter: “Your presence here would not be conducive to the public good, due to your suspected involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Libya.”
The Home Office has declined to comment and sources have insisted it did not routinely comment on individual cases. Mabrouk has declined to speak to The Telegraph but in court documents obtained by this newspaper he has denied any wrongdoing. He has accused the British police of causing “harm” to him and his family and demanded “moral and material compensation” for being falsely accused. Former Pc John Murray is crowdfunding his attempt to find justice for Yvonne Fletcher: crowdjustice.com/ case/wpc-fletcher/.
‘I had hoped he had returned to Libya in disgrace but the photograph obviously shows that is not the case’