ANY QUOTES USED MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO MURNAGHAN, SKY NEWS

DERMOT MURNAGHAN:
Libya’s government has insisted that Saif Gaddafi will face a fair trial. The fugitive son of the former Libyan leader was captured yesterday of course, apparently trying to flee the country. Let’s talk now to the Foreign Office Minister, Alistair Burt, who joins me from Bedford, a very good morning to you Mr Burt. In the pursuance of a fair trial for Saif Gaddafi, is it the British government’s view that he has more chance of getting one in Tripoli or at the International Criminal Court in the Hague?

ALISTAIR BURT:
Well we have got confidence in both the ITC and what we have heard from the Libyan authorities that between them they will be able to work out where a trial should be held and that it should be held under international standards and conditions. It is very important of course that Saif Al-Islam does have a fair trial, that he answers the charges that have been levelled against him by the Libyan people and we would support that process.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN:
But if the Libyan people decide through, the nascent Libyan government decide to try him in Tripoli, this is post civil war, it is the victors holding the trial, they haven’t got a developed judiciary, there is not really much chance of him getting that fair trial is there? It’s a foregone conclusion.

ALISTAIR BURT:
Well I think we should quite properly leave that to the ITC. Already Mr Di Campo is on his way to Libya, we have had real genuine assurances from the Minister of Justice there, from the Prime Minister. I think the new Libyan government does understand what’s at stake here, they want to show that their government is different to the regime, this trial, this opportunity to demonstrate that is very important to them. I honestly think at this stage it is much too early and rather presumptuous of all of us to be telling them what to do. Safeguards are important but people are already on their way to work those out with the Libyan authorities and I think at this stage we should allow them to get on and do their job between them and work out where the best place for a trial would be with international conditions and plainly international observance and monitoring.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN:
So does that mean that Britain has no intention or indeed ability to offer any judicial assistance?

ALISTAIR BURT:
Oh yes, we have provided assistance right across the board during this whole process of Arab Spring to those countries that have sought it and asked for it in relation to capacity building and everything else. Your earlier comments were quite right, this country has seen 40 years of repression, 40 years of not having proper systems and institutions but it does not mean that the people who are now running Libya are incapable of doing this. I think there is an issue of sovereignty involved, there is an issue of pride as to what’s been achieved in the revolution in Libya and these are people who understand what’s at stake and are going to work with the International Criminal Court and we will provide all assistance to both in order to find the best answer to what now to do with the trial and the facing of justice of Saif Al-Islam.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN:
Let me broaden this out, you mentioned there the whole Arab Spring and there is much concern continuing about events in Egypt at the moment where it seems that’s changed, that revolution as it were is far from done and dusted, still as I say major concerns.

ALISTAIR BURT:
Yes, that’s absolutely right. We viewed the events of last night with concern as we have done over the past few weeks. We are just on the brink of elections in Egypt, my own sense having been there a number of times since the revolution is that people were waiting for this process but there is great anxiety, there’s anxiety that the military leadership will actually allow the process of elections to create a new government and a new system there. Whatever the circumstances may be, we clearly appeal for all sides to refrain from violence and the rising tensions that cost lives and it is a very difficult situation there. We wish the process of democracy to succeed, again we have been active as a government in supporting those institutions, the political parties, the electoral system there to try and do what we can to make sure that there is every possibility of these elections being fair, being open and being conclusive but it is a rather long drawn out election process that goes on till January so it is a bit difficult and we do indeed view the violence over the last few weeks with great concern.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN:
And great concerns of course too about Syria, that interview with Bashar Al-Assad by the Sunday Times being broadcast today and our correspondent Stuart Ramsey making the point that what Bashar Al-Assad seems to be saying at this point in the situation in Syria parallels back to Saif Al-Islam with the kind of noises that came from the Gaddafi regime during the course of that uprising.

ALISTAIR BURT:
It does. One can understand that there is a reality issue there, the Gaddafi regime was saying things that were patently not true, an observation of their situation made clear it wasn’t true. Again Assad is saying things that only he is claiming. The international community, not least the Arab League, have made up their mind that what’s going on there is not as he has described it, an uprising by terrorists but a genuine will of the people to see a different system in Syria, peaceful protest to try and get to that being repressed by the military machine in Syria, a cycle of violence has been created for which the regime is entirely responsible and so only he is seeing it that way but yes indeed, there are parallels. Every state that has been involved in this is very different but there are parallels in circumstances, of course.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN:
Mr Burt, thank you very much indeed for your time. Foreign Office Minister, Alistair Burt, there.