text: Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam, a former minister and the late Muammar Gaddafi's cousin . The most senior member of the Gaddafi clan has laid the blame of the migrant shipwreck that killed about 950 people on the western countries which helped overthrow Colonel Gaddafi. Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam, a former minister and Muammar Gaddafi's cousin, said the 'overwhelming chaos' in Libya 'has become a shame that will haunt the countries that had participated in the destruction of the Libyan armed forces in 2011'. But senior Conservative minister William Hague has defended the government's role in helping to overthrow the dictator, who was well-known for his barbaric treatment of the would-be migrants. About 800 people are believed to have died when a fishing boat carrying migrants overturned off Libyan waters, south of the Italian island of Lampedusa, shortly after midnight on Sunday. And Gaddafi's cousin, who was one of several high-profile regime figures who fled to Egypt during the 2011 revolution, believes the only solution for stability in the Mediterranean is to bring back those who surrounded the country's despotic former ruler in government. Mr Gaddaf al-Dam, whose supporters claim could be Libya's next president, said western countries have shed 'the tears of crocodiles over democracy and human rights'. 'The missiles of NATO have installed the gangsters instead of the regime,' he said. 'I express my astonishment. How have super power countries, members of the Security Council, been incapable of realising that they are committing such a crime and not foreseeing the consequences? 'What happened in Libya, Syria and Iraq may extend everywhere... and will burn all the fingers that have participated in it.' Scroll down for video . Former dictator: Western countries helped overthrow Muammar Gaddafi (pictured) and his cousin claims they are to blame for the Mediterranean Sea disaster . Family: Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam, pictured here with his cousin Muammar Gaddafi's, blames the migrant shipwreck that killed about 950 people on the West . Local residents and rescue workers help a woman after a boat carrying migrants sank off the island of Rhodes, southeastern Greece . He described the situation in Libya since the fall of his cousin as a 'continuing tragedy'. Mr Gaddaf al-Dam claimed a third of the population had been displaced, men and women had been imprisoned and are subjected to torture, and towns are cities are bombed. But Mr Hague said it would be wrong to think that whatever has happened in Libya in the last few years is the cause of this'. He added on BBC Radio 5 live: 'Let me remind you of something as well, which is that when Colonel Gaddafi was still in power, there were periods when he simply allowed people to do exactly this, to get into boats and try to go to Europe – that was one of the ways in which he put pressure on Europe.' Colonel Gaddafi's 42-year-rule, which ended in 2011, was characterised by tyranny. He murdered political opponents and dissidents, and replaced law with his 'Green Book' of rambling political philosophy, taught in all Libyan schools. He saw himself as the leader of the Third World and used Libya's vast oil wealth to sponsor terror, shipping Semtex to the IRA and sending agents to bring down a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie in Scotland. A migrant carries a baby as they disembark from the Italian Navy vessel Chimera in the harbor of Salerno, Italy today . Tragedy: Infrared images released by the coast guard show the rescue operation after the migrant ship capsized . By the 1990s he had become a pariah, but was rehabilitated in 2004 under the British Labour government with the despot signing an £120million gas contract for Shell with Tony Blair. The Lockerbie bomber was allowed to return to Libya from a UK prison and Gaddafi intelligence officers were even allowed to operate in Britain. He held out for eight months during the Libyan revolutions of 2011, but was eventually found hiding in a drain, dragged out by rebels, beaten and executed. Experts have drawn links between the massive rise in would-be migrants and Colonel Gaddafi - whose people were forced to call him the Guide' - but not for the reasons his cousin insists. The so-called 'deal in the desert' struck by  Tony Blair in 2004 involved the dictator agreeing to crack down on human traffickers as well as renouncing Libya's possession of weapons of mass destruction and decommissioning the country's chemical and nuclear weapons programs. In 2008 Colonel Gaddafi sought to stiff the European Union for £4.1billion a year in return for halting the flows of migrants in and out of Libya. Migrants stand on board Italian Navy ship Chimera before disembarking in the southern harbour of Salerno today . Tens of thousands of migrants are fleeing Libya as extremists take advantage of the political chaos engulfing the country . In October 2010, the EU paid Libya more than £30million to stop African migrants passing into Europe. The Libyan ruler's barbaric treatment of the would-be migrants was widely condemned. It was claimed his officials would round up the migrants and hold them for months or even years in horrendously overcrowded detention centres, where rape, violence and torture were common. The migrants would then typically be deported to Libya's southern border crossing with Sudan - where they were abandoned in a harsh desert environment - or otherwise flown back to their country of origin without any checks on what they would be facing back home. As Blair's much touted 'deal in the desert' turned sour, Gaddafi gave people smugglers in Zuwara the green light to resume their trade and the migrant routes have flourished ever since. But Mr Gaddaf al-Dam said the only way to bring stability back to the country is to bring back the Gaddafis. 'Libya has become like a sick body stricken by viruses,' he said. 'The human trafficking is but one such virus. Such chaotic environment is what created this phenomenon and others.' He also accused the Libyan government of being in league with the criminal gangs. The so-called 'deal in the desert' struck by Tony Blair in 2004 involved the dictator agreeing to crack down on human traffickers . 'Libya now is ruled by extreme criminal gangsters… in alliance with all the world's devils: from drug dealers, human traffickers, exploiters of religion, arms traders, and international mafias. 'IS (ISIS) collaborate with the traffickers by wreaking chaos in Libya in exchange for financial benefits.' 'There is an exchange of financial, political and military interests that Daesh (ISIS) benefit from so as to disrupt the scene and intimidate their enemies and extort them, in fact even make a mockery out of their weakness.' Continuing to worship his late-cousin's legacy, he added: 'He dedicated billions for investment in building schools and hospitals. 'He allowed millions of Africans to work and reside in Libya without any restrictions. He provided free oil on many occasions in order to support neighbouring countries.' Tens of thousands of migrants are fleeing Libya as extremists  take advantage of the political chaos currently engulfing the country. With ISIS having established strongholds in the towns on Sirte and Derna, and with smaller bases elsewhere in the country, fear of capture and execution at the hands of the radical Islamists is driving the desperate migrants to leave Libya as quickly as they can, dangerously overloading vessels. As well as the spread of ISIS in the country, Libya is currently in a state of civil war - with two rival governments controlling and operating in different areas of the country. People smugglers are taking advantage of the subsequent chaos and confusion tearing the country apart to ply their trade with little to no threat of being caught. Refugee route: Tens of thousands of migrants are fleeing Libya as extremists take advantage of the political chaos engulfing the country . New ground: ISIS has conquered regions of Iraq, Syria and recently Libya (pictured) while building a terrifying support structure in Turkey, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt's Sinai Province, Afghanistan, Tunisia and Algeria . Mr Gaddaf al-Dam added: 'The coming period requires a strong government that has experience in controlling this chaos: a government supported by the Libyan army and police in order for Libya to reach the shores of safety. 'Libya will not stabilise except with the actual participation of the previous regime supporters.' He claims the Gaddafi supporters number two million and are not a party but said it is made up of several major tribes with the support of the Libyan army and police. 'They are the key for a solution, for peace and stability in Libya,' he said. 'They are the political experts, the military personal, the lawyers, the university professors, and the major tribal-leaders. ' Mr Gaddaf al-Dam called for a conference that includes all parties, including ISIS and the Gaddafis. In his last interview with a Western newspaper Colonel Gaddafi accurately predicted a future without him. He told Il Giornale: 'The Mediterranean will become a sea of chaos. The Africans will move en masse towards Europe.' Earlier this year, Mr Gaddaf al-Dam professed that 'not less than half a million' migrants will set sail from Libya to European shores this year. Among them, he claimed, are thousands of terrorists, who will soon be running amok in Europe culminating in a terror strike on the same scale as the September 11 attacks.
target: Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam says the West is to blame for the 'chaos' in Libya .
  He's a senior member of Gaddafi clan and late Muammar Gaddafi's cousin .
  Mr Gaddaf al-Dam blames western countries for the migrant shipwreck .
  The UK government has defended its role in helping to overthrow dictator .