‘Gaddafi’s son asked my advice on Hampstead house’ says QPR player Jay Bothroyd

A premier league footballer has revealed the son of the dead Libyan tyrant Colonel Gaddafi asked his advice before buying his �10million Hampstead Garden Suburb mansion.

Queen’s Park Rangers striker Jay Bothroyd has spoken of his friendship with playboy Saadi Gaddafi, whose palatial home in Winnington Close has been occupied by anti-Gaddafi campaigners since March.

Saadi, who is the “beneficiary owner” of the house, was forced to flee Libya after the National Transitional Council forces captured the capital Tripoli in August.

Bothroyd reportedly said: “Saadi is a friend of mine. When he bought his house he asked me what I thought. He even came to my wedding.

“I saw him about 10 months ago when he was in London.

‘‘His dad is obviously a tyrant and he dictated over his countrymen through fear, but Saadi was never like that. He was always friendly and polite.”

He added: “Obviously he used to have parties and he would invite me to Cannes to watch the Grand Prix.

“For his birthday he would fly me over on his plane. People who don’t know him might say he’s like this or like that or like his dad, but I’ve never seen that. I looked at him like a friend.”

A leading figure in the occupation of the Gaddafi house is working on proposals to use it as a bargaining chip for the return of Jewish assets frozen in Libya.