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28 February 2011
Last updated at 00:15 ET
David Cameron has added his weight to the growing international pressure on Col Muammar Gaddafi to step down amid widespread protests against his regime.
The prime minister urged the Libyan leader to "go now" and said the country had no future "that includes him".
The UK has frozen his British-held assets and those of his family, and withdrawn their diplomatic immunity.
On Sunday, an RAF Hercules came under small-arms fire rescuing oil workers - including 20 Britons - from the desert.
Mr Cameron said: "We are now putting serious pressure on this regime.
'Isolated' "We have introduced a travel ban and asset freeze, and all of this I think sends a very clear message to this regime - it is time for Col Gaddafi to go and to go now. There is no future for Libya that includes him."
The measures, which followed a UN Security Council agreement to impose sanctions, were designed to show "just how isolated" his regime was, Mr Cameron added.
Continue reading the main story Analysis
It is not unprecedented for the assets of a ruling family to be frozen by UK authorities while they are still in power. The ruling junta in Burma, Saddam Hussein and President Milosevic of Serbia have all endured (or continue to endure) that in the past.
What is interesting is the co-ordinated way in which the Treasury, BIS and FCO have been working on this order behind the scenes for a few days - directly liaising with Britain's largest banks as well as the FSA, BBA and Bank of England.
As soon as all Britons had been extracted out of Libya and the legal permission had been given by the UN, the asset freezing order took effect tonight.
While is it unclear exactly how much Libyan assets in the UK are worth, we can safely say it's in the "hundreds of millions".
Some reports have said that Col Gaddafi's son Saif owns a plush house in Hampstead, north London, but most of the assets are probably of the paper variety.
Ministers have also removed their diplomatic immunity -- and imposed an export ban on Libyan banknotes, which are printed in Britain.
Business Secretary Vince Cable has also imposed an export ban on Libyan banknotes, which are printed in Britain.
Authorities in Tripoli asked permission to export an estimated £900m worth of currency to Libya, prompting fears the money could be used to fund further repression of anti-government protesters.
Mr Cameron also paid tribute to the bravery of the British special forces who carried out a second mission on Sunday to rescue stranded desert oil workers from a number of countries.
Three RAF Hercules aircraft were involved in the operation to rescue 150 people, one of which was shot at above an air strip south west of Benghazi.
"I am sure everyone will be relieved. Good work has been done today [Sunday]," the prime minister said.
"Three Hercules have gone into the eastern desert area and brought back a number of British nationals but also many, many others and it was a mission that was not without its difficulties."
Some of those rescued have described the moment the Hercules was shot at, forcing it to abandon a landing.
One British oil worker said: "The aircraft took two hits on the right hand side of the fuselage, you just heard "bang bang" as the rounds actually struck."
Another said after failing to land at two blocked off fields, the Hercules was trying again at a third when the firing started, forcing them to abort.
The Ministry of Defence said: "We can confirm that during the operation... one of our C130 aircraft appears to have suffered minor damage consistent with small arms fire.
"There were no injuries to passengers or crew and the aircraft returned safely to Malta."
On Saturday, another 150 oil workers, many of them British nationals, were rescued from the desert by two RAF Hercules and flown to the safety of Malta.
They later caught flights back to the UK, which arrived at Gatwick airport on Sunday and early on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Royal Navy frigate HMS Cumberland has left Benghazi for Malta carrying about 200 civilians, including 50 Britons, who are expected to be flown back to the UK on Monday or Tuesday.
The government said HMS York remained in the region and was "ready to assist as required".
The Foreign Office (FCO) believes the bulk of British nationals who want to leave are now out of Libya, according to BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner.
It has closed the British embassy in Tripoli, leaving a skeleton staff working in a different building.
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The prime minister urged the Libyan leader to "go now" and said the country had no future "that includes him".
The UK has frozen his British-held assets and those of his family, and withdrawn their diplomatic immunity.
On Sunday, an RAF Hercules came under small-arms fire rescuing oil workers - including 20 Britons - from the desert.
Mr Cameron said: "We are now putting serious pressure on this regime.
'Isolated' "We have introduced a travel ban and asset freeze, and all of this I think sends a very clear message to this regime - it is time for Col Gaddafi to go and to go now. There is no future for Libya that includes him."
The measures, which followed a UN Security Council agreement to impose sanctions, were designed to show "just how isolated" his regime was, Mr Cameron added.
Continue reading the main story Analysis
It is not unprecedented for the assets of a ruling family to be frozen by UK authorities while they are still in power. The ruling junta in Burma, Saddam Hussein and President Milosevic of Serbia have all endured (or continue to endure) that in the past.
What is interesting is the co-ordinated way in which the Treasury, BIS and FCO have been working on this order behind the scenes for a few days - directly liaising with Britain's largest banks as well as the FSA, BBA and Bank of England.
As soon as all Britons had been extracted out of Libya and the legal permission had been given by the UN, the asset freezing order took effect tonight.
While is it unclear exactly how much Libyan assets in the UK are worth, we can safely say it's in the "hundreds of millions".
Some reports have said that Col Gaddafi's son Saif owns a plush house in Hampstead, north London, but most of the assets are probably of the paper variety.
Ministers have also removed their diplomatic immunity -- and imposed an export ban on Libyan banknotes, which are printed in Britain.
Business Secretary Vince Cable has also imposed an export ban on Libyan banknotes, which are printed in Britain.
Authorities in Tripoli asked permission to export an estimated £900m worth of currency to Libya, prompting fears the money could be used to fund further repression of anti-government protesters.
Mr Cameron also paid tribute to the bravery of the British special forces who carried out a second mission on Sunday to rescue stranded desert oil workers from a number of countries.
Three RAF Hercules aircraft were involved in the operation to rescue 150 people, one of which was shot at above an air strip south west of Benghazi.
"I am sure everyone will be relieved. Good work has been done today [Sunday]," the prime minister said.
"Three Hercules have gone into the eastern desert area and brought back a number of British nationals but also many, many others and it was a mission that was not without its difficulties."
Some of those rescued have described the moment the Hercules was shot at, forcing it to abandon a landing.
One British oil worker said: "The aircraft took two hits on the right hand side of the fuselage, you just heard "bang bang" as the rounds actually struck."
Another said after failing to land at two blocked off fields, the Hercules was trying again at a third when the firing started, forcing them to abort.
The Ministry of Defence said: "We can confirm that during the operation... one of our C130 aircraft appears to have suffered minor damage consistent with small arms fire.
"There were no injuries to passengers or crew and the aircraft returned safely to Malta."
On Saturday, another 150 oil workers, many of them British nationals, were rescued from the desert by two RAF Hercules and flown to the safety of Malta.
They later caught flights back to the UK, which arrived at Gatwick airport on Sunday and early on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Royal Navy frigate HMS Cumberland has left Benghazi for Malta carrying about 200 civilians, including 50 Britons, who are expected to be flown back to the UK on Monday or Tuesday.
The government said HMS York remained in the region and was "ready to assist as required".
The Foreign Office (FCO) believes the bulk of British nationals who want to leave are now out of Libya, according to BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner.
It has closed the British embassy in Tripoli, leaving a skeleton staff working in a different building.
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