UK can't go it alone on no-fly zone, says Paddy Ashdown

David Cameron'S threat of a no-fly zone in Libya was dealt another blow today when Liberal Democrat grandee Paddy Ashdown said it could not go ahead without full United Nations backing.

The senior peer contradicted Foreign Secretary William Hague, who last night claimed UN backing was not essential for British forces to take part in such an action.

Lord Ashdown said: "In my view this cannot be done without a UN Security Council resolution. It cannot be done unless you widen beyond the circle of the West to bring in other nations, and it cannot be done unless there is a request from the people of Libya and you have wider Arab support to bring it about."

The former Lib-Dem leader's warning will bear heavily on Liberal members of the Coalition who are already uneasy about the possibility of being drawn into a civil war in Libya.

As former high representative to Bosnia who lobbied hard for military interventions in the Balkans conflict, Lord Ashdown is seen as well qualified to advise ministers.

"Is a no-fly zone right now?" he asked rhetorically. "Answer, no. That doesn't mean it won't be right ever."

Mr Cameron raised the possibility of a no-fly zone, which could mean shooting down Libyan warplanes that tried to take off, in a Commons statement on Monday.

But Russia and China signalled they were against and America appears lukewarm for the time being, prompting questions about how widely the Prime Minister consulted. Mr Hague said that while "ideally" such action would be sanctioned by a resolution of the UN Security Council, it was not necessarily essential.

"There have been occasions in the past when such a no-fly zone has had clear, legal, international justification even without a Security Council resolution," he told the BBC. "It depends on the situation on the ground."

But Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the idea as "superfluous", virtually killing any hope of a UN resolution. As one of five permanent members of the security council, Russia can veto any resolution.

Mr Hague acknowledged that the Cabinet would have to take "full legal advice" before embarking with allies on a no-fly zone without a Security Council mandate.

"You would certainly need a very strong degree of international support," he said.

Mr Cameron firmly played down the likelihood of imminent action yesterday after his Monday statement sparked headlines implying he was leading a charge to war.