Yvonne Fletcher shooting: Libyan close to Gaddafi found jointly liable for killing of PC

A Libyan man has been found jointly liable at the High Court for the fatal shooting of PC Yvonne Fletcher, 37 years ago.

PC Fletcher, 25, was killed outside the Libyan Embassy on 17 April 1984 during a protest by anti-Gaddafi activists.

Her former colleague and friend John Murray, 66, brought a civil case against a Libyan man, Saleh Ibrahim Mabrouk, said to be close to the country's ex-leader Colonel Gaddafi.

Mr Mabrouk did not defend the case.

He has been barred from the UK and is currently in Libya, but in an email to Mr Murray's lawyers he denied any involvement in PC Fletcher's killing.

Mr Mabrouk was not alleged to have been the gunman but was found to be jointly liable.

A three-day trial at the Royal Courts of Justice in London heard that Mr Mabrouk was one of the key figures in a "revolutionary committee" that had taken over the Libyan Embassy on Colonel Gaddafi's orders prior to the shooting.

Gaddafi took power in Libya in 1969 but was driving the country in an increasingly radical direction and targeting his enemies abroad, including the UK.

On 17 April, two Sterling sub-machine guns were used to fire on anti-Gaddafi protesters outside the building from a first floor window, killing PC Fletcher and injuring others.

In a statement, Mr Murray, from Chingford, east London, spoke of his relief at the the court's ruling, saying it was a "huge weight off [his] shoulders" after a 37-year battle for justice.

But he said despite the "many obstacles" along the way , his promise to PC Fletcher to bring those responsible for her murder to justice had "taken a huge step forward".

Mr Murray added: "Everything we have done leading up to this verdict has been for Yvonne.

"Today, we have finally achieved justice for Yvonne."