‘Significant turning point’: British police never gave up hope in hunt for Yvonne Fletcher’s killer
The arrest of the murder suspect comes as a result of new information obtained since the fall of Gaddafi in 2011, with London officers having made seven visits to Libya since then.
The arrest by British police of a Libyan man on Thursday marks a dramatic turning point in the three-decade investigation into the killing of unarmed policewoman Yvonne Fletcher, who was shot dead outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984.
Fletcher, who was 25, was hit in the back by a shot fired from the embassy while she was policing a demonstration by Libyan dissidents against Muammar Gaddafi, who then ruled the North African country.
The shooting triggered an 11-day siege of the building by London’s Metropolitan Police, the deportation of 30 Libyans in the embassy and the severing of diplomatic ties between London and Tripoli. Libyan diplomats were eventually allowed to leave the embassy and escorted to Heathrow, where they were allowed to fly home to Tripoli.
The shot that killed Fletcher was one of several fired from the embassy and 10 Libyan anti-Gaddafi campaigners suffered gunshot wounds. Police believe two weapons, a pistol and an automatic weapon, were used in the incident.
We believe that the incident was part of the so-called ‘stray dogs campaign’ being orchestrated from Libya to attack overseas dissidents and their interests
“This is the first significant arrest in this investigation” Richard Walton, who heads London police’s counterterrorism command, told reporters. “We do believe today’s arrests mark a significant turning point.”