Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has refused to rule out the use of military force against Libya, if the regime of Moamer Gaddafi continues its bloody suppression of the uprising, dpa reported.
Cameron was speaking after Gaddafi gave a television interview to Western broadcasters, including the BBC, insisting his countrymen "love" him, blamed the uprising on al-Qaeda and said he would never resign or leave Libya.
The British prime minister told parliament that "We do not in any way rule out the use of military assets. We must not tolerate this regime using military force against its own people."
Cameron said he had ordered government officials to draw up contingency plans for a no-fly zone over Libya - although such a move has yet to garner sufficient international agreement.
"In that context I have asked the ministry of defence and the chief of the defence staff to work with our allies on plans for a military no-fly zone."
He added: "Of course we must comply with international law, but my argument is that we need to do the preparation and the planning now because no one can be sure what Col Gaddafi will do to his own people."
"If he starts taking that sort of action we might need to have a no-fly zone in place very quickly.'
Cameron spoke to French President Nicolas Sarkozy late Monday to discuss options, Downing Street said.