London, Aug. 11 : Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic who has been indicted for genocide and war crimes, was receiving protection from London, a former Hague Tribunal official has claimed.

According to The Telegraph, a former United Nations political affairs officer in Bosnia and a Hague Tribunal investigator, James Luko, told a Belgrade newspaper that General Angus Ramsay, the former commander of British peace­keepers in Bosnia, was ordered by his superiors in London to leave Karadzic alone just minutes before British troops were to capture him in August 1997.

Luko, who spent several years in Belgrade before resigning in 2005, claimed he was one of three people present when General Ramsay entered a room at the British Army headquarters in Banja Luka moments after speaking to London.

Karadzic’s convoy, monitored from an Awacs plane, was visible on a large screen in the room.

“We are not police, we are soldiers, and therefore this is not our responsibility. The police force of Republika Srpska must arrest Karadzic. International troops may help afterwards, if there is unrest in Banja Luka”, General Ramsay allegedly said.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: “We have no knowledge of this alleged incident and we would not comment on intelligence matters. The UK has been fully committed from the outset to bringing to justice indicted war criminals from the former Yugoslavia.”

A report in the same newspaper last week claimed that Karadzic was living under US protection until the CIA caught him breaking an agreement to stay out of politics. (ANI)