William Hague warns Europe on Libya mission

Foreign Secretary William Hague today warned European diplomats against interfering with British responsibilities in Libya, saying there was a danger of "mission creep".

Mr Hague also slapped down European foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton for demanding a 5.8% budget increase for the External Action Service - the EU's new diplomatic wing.

And he insisted the relationship between the United States and other Nato countries was working well, while Britain was still deciding whether to send Apache helicopters into action against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

Asked about the role of the External Action Service, the Foreign Secretary told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "We will always guard against mission creep.

"We are very clear about what's a UK responsibility and what is an External Action Service responsibility.

"I am certainly giving a pre-emptive warning. Where we have seen one or two instances of it, we have dealt with that but we will always be vigilant about that."