Published in The New York Times on August 5th 1998

Did the British government try to assassinate Colonel Gadaffi in February 1996 by planting a bomb under his motorcade. And did the plan go awry because agents from MI6 put the bomb under the wrong, killing several Libyan bystanders? A sweeping injunction has barred [UK] newspapers and television news programmes from publishing the emabarrassing allegations, brought up by a disgruntled former officer [David Shayle]. The media have been forced to discuss the allegations without actually saying what the allegations are. "I've known these things for something like 16 months, and I am not allowed to publish any of it," said Jonathon Holborrow, editor of the Mail on Sunday. Strangely enough, the Government told the press earlier this week it could report the allegation about the Gadaffi assassination plot in the vaguest possible terms because, the Home Office spokewoman said, "it is untrue". But it forbade reporting of related details, such as the allegations that the agent in charge had ties to a shady rightwing fundamentalist group in Libya, and that he was paid $160,000.