Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke has warned that the Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi could seek revenge on Britain for its involvement in airstrikes.
In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, the politician said the dictator could stage another Lockerbie-style terrorist attack and admitted he is "not totally convinced anyone knows where Britain is going" in the conflict.
"The British people have reason to remember the curse of Gaddafi - Gaddafi back in power, the old Gaddafi looking for revenge, we have a real interest in preventing that...
"I am not in the Foreign Office, fortunately, so I am not too worried by my remarks. But I am still not totally convinced anyone knows where we are going now."
The comments come as the coalition says it has carried out 96 airstrikes in Libya in the past 24 hours - and that the Libyan air system has been completely taken out.
Rebels say six people, including three young sisters, have been killed after the army shelled the areas.
And the US has warned that Colonel Gaddafi is reinforcing his positions around the city of Ajdabiyah and arming volunteers.
Vice Admiral William Gortney said: "We've received reports today that he has taken to arming what he calls volunteers to fight the opposition.
The city, which is controlled by the Gaddafi regime, is about 100 miles (160km) from rebel-held Benghazi in the east of the country.
News agency Al Jazeera has reported that rebels said they had entered Ajdabiyah from the east while the opposition held on in the west of the town, which commands the coastal road towards Tripoli.
Winning back the town would be the biggest victory for the rebels since Western military intervention halted a counter-offensive by the better equipped Gaddafi forces which had driven them back towards Benghazi.
It would also signal that allied airstrikes may be capable of helping rebel fighters to eventually topple the leader.