"Days, not weeks": British FM says Libya fighting could last until Christmas

Mr Hague spoke out after returning from a flying visit to Benghazi, where he met rebel leaders.

The Foreign Secretary admitted that plans for Libya post-Gaddafi were still ‘embryonic’ – something likely to dismay critics who say Britain has blundered into a conflict with little idea where it will lead.

And he suggested there would need to be peacekeeping forces on the ground once the war is over.