Gordon Brown today asked Muammar Gaddafi to intervene in the case of a British child abducted by her Libyan father as the Libyan leader was finally brought in from the cold by the world's richest nations.

Britain is seeking the repatriation from Libya of six-year-old Nadia Fawzi, who was taken from her mother Sarah Taylor, of Wigan, in 2007.

Mr Brown raised her case when the two leaders met at the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, today and told Colonel Gaddafi that it remained the case that Britain wanted Nadia to be reunited with her mother.

Col Gaddafi, who as usual brought a Bedouin style tent and a contingent of female bodyguards with him for his visit, undertook to look into the case and see what he could do as soon as possible, said a Downing Street spokesman.

Mr Brown and Col Gaddafi met ahead of talks between the G8 states - Britain, the US, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia - and African leaders on measures to improve food security in the world's poorest countries. Col Gaddafi is present as chairman of the African Union.

Today's meeting is the first time Mr Brown has met Col Gaddafi, who was an international pariah for years following the Lockerbie bombing, for which Libya was blamed.

His predecessor Tony Blair famously flew to Libya in 2004 to meet Col Gaddafi in his desert tent after he gave up his weapons of mass destruction capability and accepted responsibility for the attack.

Mr Brown reiterated his "admiration and gratitude" for Col Gaddafi's "brave" decision to scrap the WMD programmes.

The meeting took place in a small room in the financial police barracks where the summit is being held. Col Gaddafii spoke in Arabic and Mr Brown in English. Each had three aides with them and there was some banter when Col Gaddafi realised that Simon McDonald, Mr Brown's foreign affairs chief and a slightly rusty Arabic speaker, was picking up on everything that he was saying.

Col Gaddafi wore a shiny white silk suit with a black undershirt, a black cape and scarf and knee high boots. His bodyguards wore a blue uniform with gold epaulettes. Behind the leaders was a Union Flag and a plain green Libyan flag.

In an apparent reference to Iran and North Korea, Mr Brown said that, following the decision to hold a nuclear non-proliferation summit next spring, it would be necessary to try to persuade other countries to follow Libya's example.

During their 40-minute discussion, the two leaders talked about the current volatility in oil prices - which recently hit $75 a barrel.

They agreed on the need to maintain close dialogue between the major oil-consuming countries and producers like Libya, as well as the need for greater transparency in the oil markets.

Col Gaddafi raised the case of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, who is appealing against his conviction and seeking return to Libya, but Mr Brown said that it was a matter for the Scottish Government.

Mr Brown also raised the case of Wpc Yvonne Fletcher, who was shot dead outside the Libyan embassy in 1984. No one has been convicted for her murder, though the Libyan government has accepted that its agents were responsible.

Mr Brown and Col Gaddafi had a long discussion on Africa and their "strongly shared view" that the continent needs better representation in international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, said Downing Street.

The Prime Minister made the point that Africa was not responsible for the current global recession and should be protected from its consequences.

This was not the time for rich nations to retreat from their commitments to assist the poorest, said Mr Brown.

He offered British help in developing Libya's healthcare system, which Col Gaddafi accepted.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "Throughout the conversation, there was agreement that the relationship between the UK and Libya was a strong relationship and had grown significantly since 2003 and that it would grow stronger still in the years to come."

Col Gaddafi met Barack Obama last night and enjoyed his first handshake with a US president since his long years of isolation.

Mr Brown has already pledged to devote $1.8 billion dollars of Britain's international aid to agriculture and hopes other G8 leaders will make similar promises today as part of a drive to make Africa self-sufficient in food.

The global downturn has led to a sharp increase in food shortages, with the numbers of chronically hungry estimated to be growing at a rate of around 275,000 a day throughout 2008.

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