Relations after Muammar Gaddafi 's 1969 coup were extremely poor , with Gaddafi 's government taking a combative anti-Western stance and developing weapons of mass destruction . Poor relations were reinforced by direct confrontations such as the alleged murder of Yvonne Fletcher , the 1986 United States bombing of Libya and the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103
Libya–United Kingdom relations