Today Gareth Welsh is an unassuming butterfly and plant enthusiast...but this is the man who ventured in the palace of Colonel Gaddafi for Prime Minister Tony Blair and Britain. Chris Webber reveals all

"YOU'VE got to speak as you find," says Gareth Welsh, genially, "and, I have to say, Gaddafi was all right, at least with me."

These words, uttered in the quintessentially English surroundings of Butterfly World in Preston Park in leafy Eaglescliffe, seem bizarre, unbelievable.

And yet above Gareth's head on his office wall is a framed photograph of himself shaking hands with the notorious dictator of Libya himself.

Gareth, Butterfly World's owner, smiles at the memory. "That was in his library. I remember he had the shiniest shoes you can imagine. It stays with me. I remember thinking, 'does he have people just to shine his shoes all day?' He maybe did."

Gareth, who is fully aware of the horrific stories of cruelty surrounding the now long-deposed dictator, describes himself as "a welder from Chilton" but at the time of his meeting with Gaddafi, was in fact a successful businessman. He and his business partner, Michael Stephenson, who ran Neecol Structures, had spent a lot of time in Libya trying to win contracts to build football stadiums.

It was there they met a key character in the story, a Ugandan fixer, who Gareth describes as “a great guy” who had known that other African dictator, Idi Amin and was later even credited as an advisor in a film about Amin called The Last King of Scotland. Gaddafi, eager to avoid the West’s reaction to the outrage of 9/11, got in touch with Ugandan middle man who, knowing that Gareth knew Tony Blair, called Gareth. In fact our ‘Chilton welder’ was far from the top table of UK power but was an Independent councillor on Sedgefield Town Council. That said he did know Mr Blair and, much more closely, John Burton, Blair's right-hand man in Sedgefield.

It was enough for Gaddafi and the Ugandan called up, declared; 'we’re going palace.' The two County Durham men, Gareth Welsh and Michael Stephenson waited for the official car to arrive. Gareth picks up the story: "There's a whacking great wall round the palace, it's famous, guns turrets, all that. Inside there's another, just the same, then, past that, there's all these kind of concrete pyramids, the car had to weave round. When you get to the gate, there's a tank, half in the ground, it's gun pointing at you."

Eventually the small group were taken into the library. "He (Gaddafi) asked if I would have a word with Tony Blair, he was asking to join the Alliance. I said, 'why don't you just approach the British Embassy?' He said that if he did it would be in all the newspapers tomorrow and he didn't want all that."

Was he scared? "I've been in far worse situations," says the who has travelled to many dangerous countries and places in search of scarce butterfies and plants.

Back in England contact was duly made with John Burton, the photos proving their contact shown to him. "John rang Tony up in front of us," says Gareth, "he said, 'you won't believe this, I've got Gareth Welsh here, he's been with Gaddafi.' I never heard what Tony Blair said."

A series of strange meetings were held in London, all at great financial cost to Gareth and Michael's business. One time he flew the Ugandan to London to meet in the Dorchester to meet British civil servants, only to be told it was off at the last minute. Another time 'two suits,' probably from the British security services, came to a meeting in the Dorchester. "One of these guys was a real pillock,and starting ordering everyone around, including the king and queen of an African tribe. I remember he talked to me and I said, 'hey, I wasn't even talking to you, pal." The spook from Number 10 put in his place.

Gareth also recalls hearing discussions while in the office of Gaddafi's London lawyer about discussions about Libyan Government involvement or Lockerbie and the murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher.

Eventually, and, of course, after more traditional contacts between the two Governments were made, a meeting with Foreign Minister Mike O'Brien and Libyan counterparts was held which, eventually, led to that first, historic meeting between Gaddafi and Tony Blair.

It is all scarcely believable but, sure enough, as well as that photograph, Gareth produces a letter from John Burton thanking him for his help. Our "welder from Chilton" is clearly proud of it, but the fact that the Libyan Government never paid a penny of the massive costs in setting up all those meetings still rankles a little.

And yet he smiles he has another tale to tell about when he met Gaddafi again. "Next time I went over, Gaddafi said, 'why did they want this tent in the desert?' The British had wanted these pictures of him in the desert, real stereotype stuff, but he said, 'I've got a palace! Why couldn't we meet there"' He told me, ''I've had to steal and borrow to get some camels for some reason,' he just shook his head and walked away."

Our talk of Gaddafi, secret service men, terrorist attacks and international political intrigue over Gareth goes back to talking about what really interests him: the fauna, flora and beautiful plants he brings to Butterfly World in a quiet corner of the North-East.