It was a very different Gaddafi and not just because this time he did not have the cameras with him - though that itself must raise questions.His tone was much calmer, almost pleading, than in the violent and angry tirades he inflicted on television viewers on Tuesday.
What he did, is once again show that for all his showmanship he is very much in the mould of other Arab 'strongmen'.
In Egypt, Hosni Mubarak first addressed his people in defiant mode, as if he was more outraged at the fact that people had risen against him than he was interested in knowing why.
Then in his second speech he tried to be conciliatory, tried to present himself as an elder statesman, suggested that he was all along happy to take a back seat (but wouldn't give up his status).
Gaddafi has just done the same - moving from irate father wagging his finger at his disobedient teenage subjects to saying all he ever wanted was to be a loved and respected constitutional monarch with no real power, like our own dear Queen.
There was an even more direct echo later on: Mubarak told ABC News in the US that he was 'fed up' with ruling his country, and only carried on to stop it falling apart.
Gaddafi said he wasn't 'interested' any more but would stay because he was patriotic.
But in Mubarak's case, it wasn't enough and it seems hard to believe it will be enough in Gaddafi's case either."
14.55: Col Gaddafi continues through his extraordinary rant by quoting a proverb that "if you carry a leaking bagful of water it will make your backside wet".
That’s your responsibility. You are my people in al-Zawiya," he added.He urged parents to "pay attention to your children" and find those "responsible for inciting them and take them to court".
"You should take the guns away from the kids. This is the responsibility of all parents," he added.
“My condolences to the families of those people killed from the security forces. I wonder if Bin Laden is going to help compensate the families.
"Here I wait hoping that al-Zawiya, known to be the town of 1,000 martyrs against the Italian colonisers (so) please do not disappoint me.
"Otherwise each one will take justice in their own hands and rid the country of this dark cloud.
"Peace be on al-Zawiya and its people."
He then abruptly hangs up the phone.
14.45: In comparing himself to the Queen, who he says has not been overthrown for 57 years.
He said: You need to listen to your parents. If people disobey their parents they end up destroying the country.
You need to listen to your parents. If people disobey their parents they end up destroying the country."The same case as in Britain (where) for 57 years the Queen has been ruling. I have been in the same situation.
"I am not in the same position to be able to impose rule on the people. I have become more of a symbolic leader. I have no power, it's the people themselves who have the prerogative."
He continued: "There are institutions that look after these issues of state. We have popular committees here and everyone is represented.
"I do not particulary care about this and I am not interested in this.
"It is not a matter of authority, this is an international link we have heard about, which is spreading across the world."
The terrorists he said "do not care about you".
"All they want is to kill you and your kids so they can control them."
14.36: Col Gaddafi told state television:
People have no reason to complain whatsever."This incitement is taking place by those armed youngsters. Our children are incited by those wanted by America and the western world.
“Get control of your children, keep them at home.
"Those (children) are carrying machine guns and they feel trigger-happy, especially when they get stoned with drugs. My brothers, don’t you have wise men in your areas?
"The men are scared to go out on the street. Don’t you think that al Zawiya... should rethink what has been happening?
"The majority of the civilians are unarmed."
He asks now that the "oil has stopped" how will his citizens how support themselves.
14.30: Appears to blame drug dealers, al Qaeda, its chief Osama bin Laden, other terrorists and students "disobeying" their parents. Says he has "no power" over the country, and draws comparisons to the Queen.
14.23: He is defiant. Listening in. Update shortly.
14.20: BREAKING NEWS: Col Gaddafi is addressing Libyan state TV via mobile phone.
14.10: The pilot of Col Gaddafi's private jet, who is Norwegian, has fled Libya, reports have claimed. Odd Birger Johansen, 57, flew to Vienna with his wife and daughter after fearing for their lives in Libya, the BBC reported. Mr Johansen is reportedly one of four personal pilots used by the long-standing Libyan leader.
14.05: Interesting tweet from Cal Perry, Middle East Correspondent for Al Jazeera English: "During presser at Libya embassy: man with handi-cam from govt. tapes all faces of press. Then amb. invites Malta press to go to Tripoli!"
A British family arrive at Gatwick Airport after being evacuated from Libya. (Picture: EPA)13.45: A new statement has been issued by the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence.
It confimed the RAF C130 Hercules has departed Tripoli with 51 British passengers on board and 13 other entitled passport holders, bound for Malta. A second C130 is deploying to Malta and will be ready to assist as required.
HMS Cumberland has docked in Benghazi and is currently preparing to carry out the evacuation of British Nationals from the port.
The MOD is "assisting FCO officials in Tripoli and has pre-positioned a number of other assets and personnel in the area to assist as and when appropriate as part of the overall Foreign Office led response". "A number of further UK assets are also being readied to assist the FCO if required."
In support of the Foreign Office led operation to evacuate British nationals from Libya, I can confirm that a RAF Hercules C130 is currently in the air having taken off from Tripoli airport with 51 British people on board. It will land in Malta later today," said Dr Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary.“The Ministry of Defence has had a range of assets in the Eastern Mediterranean region for the last 24 hours, including HMS Cumberland, which is now alongside in Benghazi preparing to evacuate British nationals.
"Having pre-positioned various assets we are confident we have the necessary capabilities in place to support the ongoing civilian and commercial efforts to help Britons in need of assistance.”
Foreigners trying to leave Libya wait inside the international airport in Tripoli. (Picture: BARCROFT MEDIA).13.40: There are multiple reports of gun battles taking place between security forces and protesters leaving up to 100 people dead. Both Reuters and Al Jazeera report the battle took place in the town of al Zawiyah, 50 km west of Tripoli. Witnesses reported that the army attacked the town, firing shots at protesters for more than four hours.
13.25: The United Arab Emirates has urged the United Nations Security Council to intervene swiftly to stop bloodshed and violence in Libya and hold probe acts of brutality in the North African nation, the state-run WAM agency said.
Bloomberg said the U.A.E. demanded that the Libyan authorities refrain from using force and save lives, WAM reported citing a foreign ministry statement.
13.20: Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, becomes the latest world leader to condemn the "appalling" violence in Libya.
It's appalling what's happening in Libya, where a regime's army is firing blindly and intentionally on its own people," Mr Netanyahu told a press conference with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk."It requires a strong and clear condemnation from the civilised world and even more so from the democratic world."
His comments came as Europe and Russia also strongly condemned the "violence and the use of force against civilians" and urged respect for human rights and international law.
The EU said it was considering sending a humanitarian intervention force to Libya.
13.15: France called for a U.N.-backed inquiry team sent into Libya to investigate possible crimes against humanity.
We want an independent, impartial and credible inquiry team sent to Libya under the auspices of the United Nations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valer."This mission would be able to measure the scale of crimes committed and notably whether crimes against humanity occurred."
Cool support from UN member states including Russia, China and Cuba means that any draft resolution on Libya to come from Friday's urgent session of the UN Human Rights Council will likely be heavily watered down, diplomats told Reuters. There were some suggestions that there would be no resolution passed at all.
A man gestures in front of burnt vehicles in a state security building in Tobruk, east of Libya (Picture: REUTERS).13.05: All muslims should support the uprising against Col Gaddafi, an offshoot of the al Qaeda terror network in North Africa.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb urged full support of the revolt but did not give any specifics, the Associated Press reported.
According to a statement posted on the militant website the group, based in neighboring Algeria, denounced Col Gaddafi as a "criminal tyrant." It said support for the rebels should especially come from Libyan neighbors Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria.
13.00: Putting himself on a collision course with President Obama, Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said his country was against imposing sanctions on Libya because such measures would punish the Libyan people.
"It is not correct to move hastily on these type of situations. It is not right to impose sanctions against Libya because such measures will punish the population," he said.12.50: Foreign journalists who enter Libya without permission are "al Qaeda collaborators" the embattled Libyan government now believes, according to the US State Department.
In meetings with senior Libyan government officials, US diplomats were told that some members of CNN, BBC Arabic and Al Arabiya would be allowed into the country to report on the current situation," a spokesman said."These same senior officials also said that some reporters had entered the country illegally and that the Libyan government now considered these reporters Al-Qaeda collaborators."
12.40: More than 30,000 Tunisians and Egyptians have fled to their home countries from Libya since Monday, according to the International Organisation for Migration, a UN agency.
It was standing by to help tens of thousands more who are expected to leave. It comes as Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, condemned the violence in Libya.
12.30: Reuters have put together a nice factbox detailing the countries and companies evacuating nationals and employees from Libya or closing operations due to the political turmoil in the country.
12.20: Telegraph TV's latest Libya footage on the chaos at Tripoli airport as people try to flee.12.15: Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary, has appeared to confirm that the SAS was on stand-by and could be deployed to help rescue 170 oil workers in perilous circumstances in the Libyan desert.
While the Ministry of Defence refused to comment on the movements of the Special Forces, the Mr Hunt sought to stress the Government's proactive response to events.
The most significant news is the SAS troops that are now ready to spring into action," he told LBC Radio."They are obviously thinking very, very carefully about these 170 trapped oil workers and the issue now is how do we deal with people outside Tripoli rather than inside Tripoli."
Asked whether he could foresee a time when British troops were deployed in Libya, he added: "Absolutely."
"But I don't want to speculate on that because the normal Foreign Office line rightly - because they don't want to compromise the operations - is that they don't rule anything in or rule anything out, but we wouldn't have SAS troops on stand-by if we weren't envisaging the possibility of having to use them."
12.05: The Foreign Office has just issued this update:
* Three flights have either already departed or are about to leave Tripoli:
* A charter flight carrying 78 adults and one infant arrived at Gatwick at 0715 this morning.
* A FCO-chartered flight left Tripoli at 0745 this morning and arrived in Malta at 0900. It carried 130 adults and 2 infants. It is currently waiting for a new crew at Malta and is currently scheduled to arrive in the UK early evening.
*There will be a further FCO charter flight departing Gatwick today. Details are being finalised now.
* A Hercules C130 will depart Tripoli airport soon carrying at least 50 British Nationals.
* Another Hercules is on standby in Malta if needed.
* HMS Cumberland is approaching Benghazi and preparing to dock. We are encouraging British Nationals to go to the port. Capacity is several hundred. It will transport passengers to Valetta, Malta. We are unable to confirm precise time of departure. There will be no charge for this assisted departure.
* 26 British nationals should be departing on a Turkish ferry leaving Benghazi later today. We are looking into contingency plans around using more ferries if needed. British Nationals at the port already may wish to make contact with Turkish Embassy officials to use this route.
Numerous FCO staff continue to work day and night to provide the best possible assistance to British Nationals in Libya," a spokesman said."We have increased the number of FCO staff working in the call handling centre. We are also looking to activate options around commercial call handling.
"We currently have two Rapid Deployment Teams on the ground in Libya: one on HMS Cumberland helping Brits to get on board, and a team providing 24 hour support at Tripoli airport. We will send more if needed."
He added: "Consular staff are at Malta airport assisting passengers. We are sending additional staff to Malta to reinforce our teams already there."
An RAF Hercules transport plane sits on the runway at Malta Airport (Picture: REUTERS)12.00: The London School of Economics has announced its Council will review its £300,000 funding for its North Africa Programme that it received from the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation.
The School had originally planned to ask Council to consider what to do with the unspent funds, but will now also ask Council to consider whether the School should set aside for purposes agreed with the wider School community funds equivalent in value to the Foundation funds already spent," a spokesman said.He said the student occupation, sparked by unhappiness about the university's links to Libya, had "ended following discussions with the Director".
The group of students had occupied the senior dining room for the past few night after making "a number of demands concerning" the school's links with Libya.
They demanded that the LSE reject further monies from the £1.5 million donation from the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation and use the £300,000 already received to create a scholarship fund for "underprivileged Libyan students".
"Students are satisfied with LSE's position on the matter, particularly in light of strong support from the student union for the original £1.5 million donation," he added.
11.50: Saudi Arabia says it is "ready and willing" to make up for any shortfall in oil production caused by the uprising in Libya, Reuters reports.
Protesters shout anti-government slogans near a bombed ammunitions store in Tobruk. (Picture: REUTERS).11.45: A cousin of Col Gaddafi, and one of his closest aides, has arrived in Cairo. Gadhaf al-Dam said the crackdown was seen "grave violations to human right and human and international laws", the Associated Press reported.
It came after France joined the UN in calling for international justice for "atrocities".
11.40: Security forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Thursday attacked anti-government militias controlling the town of Misrata and killed several people, Reuters reports.
11.35: Thanks to colleague Praveen Swami for flagging this great Google Map of fighting in Libya.
11.30: ABC Radio Australia reports that Libyan authorities have detained one Australian-Libyan citizen in the country. It remains unclear what the person has been detained for.
11.25: After several British airlines suspended operation to and from Libya other companies have also announced they are stopping travel to the country.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is dropping all flights serving the Libyan capital of Tripoli from today until Feb. 27 following a German government travel warning while the Italian carrier Alitalia announced it was also suspending regular flights.
11.20: Col Gaddafi to make a public address in Zawiyah city west of Tripoli, state television said Thursday.
Libya leader Muammar Gaddafi is to make a public address shortly. (Picture: EPA).11.10: A foreign military intervention in Libya is not currently on the cards but establishing and enforcing a no-fly zone was "worth looking at", French Defence Minister Alain Juppe said.
11.05: Libyan oil production has halved and fallen by 1.2 million barrels a day because of the current unrest in Libya, according to Paolo Scaroni, the chief executive of Italian energy giant ENI as the price of oil hit a 30-month high.
11.00: Henchmen of Col Gaddafi's regime have abducted two daughters of his exiled former protocol chief and forced them to denounce their father on state television, the exiled aide's lawyer claims.
Nuri el-Mismari, who is exiled in France where he was arrested last year at the request of Tripoli on suspicion of embezzlement, has made various declarations to the media about Kadhafi's demise in the face of mass protests.
On Wednesday, he told the AFP news agency that "the Libyans are not going to stop. Moamer Kadhafi over. He's lost everything."
Mismari's lawyer Frederic Landon said that two of his daughters were forced to speak on Libyan state television to denounce their father's declarations.
"Two of Mr el-Mismari's daughters have just been abducted by men working for Mr Kadhafi and forcibly taken to the television to deny their father's statements," he said.
"They are still in the hands of Moamer Kadhafi's men, which shows there's a will for reprisals."
10.50: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi appears on Libyan state TV claiming that life in Tipoli was returning to "normal". He accuses "Arab brothers" of fueling a conspiracy while also blaming the media for "spreading lies", Al Jazeera reports.
He calls on Egyptians to not participate in the "conspiracy" after the country's army ordered an evacuation of its citizens after authorities there interpreted Saif Gaddaffi's earlier speech as incitement to violence against their people.
"Life in Tripoli is normal," he said, adding that he would organise a tour for international media and other organisations.
AP reports that he denied airstrikes against Libyan cities, claiming the death toll exaggerated.
Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi's son Seif al-Islam speaks on Libyan state television (Picture: AFP/ GETTY IMAGES)10.45: Mobile phone messages are circulating in Tripoli, calling for mass protests against Col Gaddafi following Friday lunchtime prayers, Al Jazeera reports.
10.40: French Defence Minister Alain Juppe has he hoped Col Gaddafi "lives his last moments at head of state," with hundreds already dead in protests against his regime, AFP reports.
"France has taken an extremely clear position. I wish with all my heart for Kadhafi to live his last moments at head of state," Juppe told France Inter radio.
"What he's done, what he's decided to do, that's to say firing heavy weaponry on his people, is naturally unacceptable."
James Kirkup 10.20: Prime Minister David Cameron has said he was "extremely sorry" for the delay to Government efforts to rescue Britons stranded in Libya.According to James Kirkup, who is travelling with the PM, Mr Cameron apologised during several television interviews in Muscat, Oman just hours after the Government's chaotic operation to rescue Britons from Libya.
"What I would say to those people is that I am extremely sorry," he told Sky News."It is a very difficult picture in Libya. This is not an easy situation."
He added to the BBC: "Of course, I am incredibly sorry. They have had a difficult time."
Mr Cameron told the BBC News that "all the options" were open, including the use military assets "as they were needed".
"In terms of the future, I don't want to speculate too much. We have to plan very carefully for what we can do, with the companies concerned, for all those people who are out in the desert working for various businesses out there.
"We have people working round the clock to get that done. It wouldn't be right to speculate about all the different means and methods we can do to do that. As for the future, we must look at all the options."
Scottish rescue workers and crash investigators search the area around the cockpit of Pan Am flight 103 in a farmer's field east of Lockerbie Scotland after a mid-air bombing killed all 259 passengers and crew, and 11 people on the ground. Mustapha Abdeljalil claimed Co Gaddafi 'ordered' the bombing. (Picture: REUTERS)10.00: The former minister in Col Gaddafi's former ministers, who claimed his former boss had "ordered the Lockerbie bombing" has further predicted that the Libyan leader will follow in Adolph Hitler's footsteps by committing suicide, rather than give up power, AFP reports.
Mustapha Abdeljalil, justice minister until he quit over the bloody crackdown on protestors, told Sweden's Expressen that he expected Kadhafi to make good on his pledge to die on Libyan soil rather than slink into exile.
Gaddafi's time is up. He is going to go like Hitler, he is going to commit suicide," Abdeljalil said in Thursay's edition of the newspaper.Hitler committed suicide in his bunker in Berlin in April 1945 as he witnessed the disintegration of the Nazi German empire. He made the comments about Lockerbie in the same newspaper.
Col Gaddafi (left) and Mustafa Abdeljalil, Libya's justice minister (Picture: AFP/GETTY IMAGES/ EPA).09.45: Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union, which represents oil workers, accused the Government of "failing" UK citizens at a time of crisis.
The response of the Government in terms of organising transport to get our people home has been a disgrace that has left lives in danger while other foreign nationals were back on home soil in their thousands before a single plane had even left the UK," he said."If planes can be scrambled to fly David Cameron around the Middle East and North Africa on press stunts, why can't the same be done for our people caught in the middle of a civil war?"
09.30: Italy warns of a "biblical" exodus of up to 300,000 migrants from Libya, AFP reports. Roberto Maroni, the Italian Interior Minister, urged European Union nations to help with coping with "a catastrophic humanitarian crisis" looming in Libya.
09.20: Egyptian workers fleeing Libya say anti Col Gaddafi militias control town of Zuara, 120 km west of Tripoli, Reuters reports.
09.15: NBC News London-based correspondent Stephanie Gosk, tweets that "Sandstorm forces border to close between Libya and Egypt. Makes getting out of Libya even harder".09.00: Lebanese authorites confirm they refused to allow a Libyan plane to land in Beirut yesterday. This was due to the not identifying its passengers, Al Jazeera reports, amid claims the passengers included the wife of one of Gaddafi's sons.
British passengers arrive at Gatwick Airport after the flight from Libya, which they described as 'descending into hell'. (Pictures: REUTERS/ CHRISTOPHER PLEDGER).08.45: Forces loyal to Col Gaddafi have attacked the town Az-Zawiyah to the west of the capital Tripoli, Al Arabiya television reported, citing witnesses, according to Bloomberg.
08.30: The first reports of the "hellish" scenes inside Libya are beginning to emerge from Britons fleeing the regime.
Bryan Richards, an oil worker, escaped from Libya last night on what he was told was the Polish President's official plane.
I am not quite sure how it came about but we had a call saying that there's a Polish plane going with 50 seats. 'Does anyone want one?' It was a bit of no-brainer really. I am in Warsaw. I am out of the sand and into the snow," he told Today from Warsaw.He said he was nearly "bludgeoned" as he tried to escape through Tripoli Airport.
I was the tail-end Charlie of our little entourage going through the airport. I do this many times a year coming in and out of Tripoli airport."Now, we see organised chaos but we are used to it. This was manic. This was the worst nightmare of pop concerts and football hooligans all mixed into one.
"It was unbelievable. If you can imagine an area the size of the Wembley pitch full of people and luggage, all trying to move in the same direction but not going anywhere and no-one else can move anywhere. It was unbelievable manic, mayhem. There was no sanitation, nothing to eat, people had been there for days."
A Royal Air Force C-130 Hercules transport plane at Malta International Airport outside Valletta (Picture: REUTERS).Meanwhile, passengers landing at Gatwick have spoke of their relief to be home.
Helena Sheehan, 66, said she had just experienced "some of the worst hours of her life".
"Libya is descending into hell," she said.
"The airport is like nothing I've ever seen in my whole life.
"It's absolute chaos. There's just thousands and thousands of people trying to get out."
William Hague has ordered a review into the rescue fiasco. He admitted the response had been poor. (Picture: EPA)08.20: The Foreign Secretary, who is to chair a meeting of COBRA, the government's crisis committee later today, admits fiasco was "infuriating". He calls for more international pressure on Libya as the "odds are stacking heavily" against regime, which he claimed had embarked on "atrocities".
He said that the problems with the plane and the rescue efforts had left him angry. People "should have been rescued yesterday". He declined to say if Special Forces, but added that "we will be looking at every option".
Apart from the people in Tripoli there was nobody more infuriated than I was," he told the BBC's Radio 4 Today Programme.On Col Gadaffi and his regime he added: "We are having a quite different situation from Egypt and Tunisia where the Military refused to fire on their pelple but that doesn't seemed to have flowed (to Libya).
"Atrocities have taken place, atempts to fire on the people of that country. And that is deeply concerning that a government that is using force and violence against their own. The odds are stacking heavily against him (Col Gadaffi)." He called for more international pressure over the coming days.
The Libyan leadership will be "held to account" for crimes against its people, he added.
Mr Hague said the Government had expected a number of airlines to fly out to Libya but they had "suddenly" withdrawn their offers due to safety or business concerns.
08.15: William Hague admits Foreign Office resources are "under strain", blaming airlines and the earthquake in Christchurch.
08.10: Sky News reporting the mercenaries working for Gaddafi trained at the same places as the IRA.
British special forces could be used to rescue the 170 British workers marooned in desert camps in Libya. (Picture: AFP/GETTY IMAGES)08.00: More pressure on Col. Muammar Gaddafi as Alain Juppe, the French Defence Minister said he hoped time as leader of Libya was coming to an end.
"I hope wholeheartedly Gaddafi is living his last moments as leader," Juppe said in an interview on France Inter radio where he repeated French calls for sanctions after Gadaffi's bloody crackdown on the revolt in Libya.
Asked if sanctions should include halting purchases of oil from Libya, the minister said: "If that option were proposed I would go for it," Reuters reported.
Pressure is mounting on Col Gaddafi (Picture: REUTERS)07.45: Reports have suggested that Libyan oil production is down by as much as 25 per cent. It comes after President Barack Obama raised the threat of sanctions against Libya, saying that action could be taken by the United States unilaterally, in concert with major allies or through international institutions.
US officials have said those options included economic sanctions, freezing assets of the Gaddhafi regime, scrapping humanitarian aid. At this stage, imposing a no-fly zone over Libya was toward the bottom of the list.
07.30: Libyan pilots crash their fighter jet rather than attack Benghazi, according to reports. Two Libyan air force pilots bailed out of their fighter jet and let it crash rather than obey orders to attack opposition-held Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, the website for the Libyan newspaper Quryna reported.
07.20: A plane chartered by oil company BP, carrying 150 people, has landed at Gatwick from Libya.
07.15: A British operation to rescue nationals stranded by the civil war in Libya has finally got under way after a day of delays forced the Government to borrow a plane from BP.07.00 Welcome to The Telegraph's live blog, following events in Libya and across the Middle East as they develop on Thursday.
