Libya is concerned about the forthcoming drilling by BP in the Gulf of Sirte and has insisted with the company that the most stringent safety precautions should be followed, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said this evening.

Speaking on his return from a visit to Libya during which he also had a meeting with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Dr Muscat said Libya believed that a disaster, similar to that which happened in the Gulf of Mexico, would be catastrophic in the Mediterranean.

In Libya, Dr Muscat also discussed illegal immigration and the recent incident which saw the Armed Forces of Malta sending back to Libya 27 Somali immigrants rescued from a sinking dinghy.

While the Maltese government and the AFM claimed that those sent back to Libya had been voluntarily repatriated, the migrants who stayed in Malta said the repatriation was forced.

The Libyan government, Dr Muscat said, confirmed the Maltese government’s version of events.

During his meeting with Col. Gaddafi, Dr Muscat said he expressed the hoped that relations between Malta and Libya would continue to develop. He delivered greetings from former party leader Dom Mintoff.

Col. Gaddafi sent birthday wishes to Mr Mintoff, who turns 94 on Friday.

Dr Muscat returned to Malta on a private aircraft provided by the Libyan government.

Following his first visit to Libya in 2008 Dr Muscat had also paid tribute to Mr Mintoff for his personal interest in the visit.