My visit to Scotland comes at a serious time.
It won’t surprise you that, given the events of the past 24 hours, I’m not going to give the speech I was intending to give.
But it goes without saying you have my good wishes and full support for all your work ahead …
… and it is with enormous pride that, here in Perth - where we have met so many times in the long years of opposition - that I stand in front of my own party’s Scottish conference for the first time as Prime Minister.
But today, I want to talk about the events in Libya and what the British Government is doing.
It was more than three weeks ago that the people of Libya took to the streets in protest against Colonel Gaddafi and his regime.
There were hopeful signs that a better future awaited them and that, like people elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East, they were taking their destiny into their own hands.
But Gaddafi – aided by mercenaries – responded by turning the full might of his military against his own people.
Attacking peaceful protestors.
Smashing up towns like Zawiyah.
Using heavy weapons, aircraft, helicopter gunships and naval forces …
… brutally beating back those who have opposed him.
Now he has threatened the heavily populated city of Benghazi.
Gaddafi himself made clear his plans last night to launch a violent assault on that city…
…and he said that every home would be searched and that he would show no mercy and no pity.
There was a real danger that the world would look on in horror at all this – and yet do nothing.
That’s why I felt so strongly that it was right to take a lead, right to help marshal concerted international effort and right to bring forward the action to stop this slaughter.
All along we have been clear about what was required before action could take place…
….a demonstrable need on the ground, strong regional support, and a clear legal basis for anything proposed.
These three conditions have now fully been met.
Who could challenge the demonstrable need when in the last three weeks, Gaddafi has brutalised his own population and is now poised to inflict grave damage on a major city?
The regional support is beyond doubt.
It was the people of Libya – through the Transitional Council – who were the first to call for protection from air attack through a no-fly zone.
They’re now backed by the Gulf Co-operation Council and the Arab League - who have made the same demand.
And as for there being a clear legal basis…
…last night, the United Nations voted to authorise action to stand up to this aggression and protect the civilian population.
The words of the Security Council resolution are unambiguous:
It calls for an immediate ceasefire.
For measures to stop the import of foreign mercenaries into Libya.
And for a tightening of sanctions against the regime.
It also calls for – and authorises – a no-fly zone and the use of all necessary measures, excluding a foreign occupation force, to protect the civilian population of Libya, including those in Benghazi.
The central purpose of all this is clear: to end the violence, protect civilians, and allow the people of Libya to determine their own future, free from the brutality inflicted by the Gaddafi regime.
This course of action has been decided at the United Nations – the forum through which countries come together…
…the very institution that helps to uphold international order and the rule of law…
…and it is a course of action which I believe will be confirmed when the government tables a substantive Motion for debate in Parliament on Monday.
So, what we are doing is endorsed by the UN, is rooted in international law, and will also be subject to full Parliamentary accountability.
That is the right way of doing things.
But for all the correct nature of these processes, I recognise that there will be people watching at home tonight who will have questions about the course we are taking.
I want to address those concerns as clearly and directly as I can.
HOW IS THIS IN OUR NATIONAL INTEREST?
The first question is, quite simply: what has Libya got to do with us?
My straightforward answer is: a great deal.
Yes, there is a moral case for action – the duty we have to stop a humanitarian crisis from unfolding.
But the case for action is also rooted in our hard-headed national interest.
It is in our national interest that countries on Europe’s edge are able to evolve towards more open and democratic government.
Democracies are more likely to adhere to the international rule of law and be good, friendly neighbours.
They are less likely to fight wars of aggression and commit violence against their own people.
So standing by while the legitimate aspirations of the Libyan people for a better future are snuffed out by brute force - that is clearly not in Britain’s interests.
And think of the chilling signal it would send to other people across North Africa and the Middle East who are reaching for a better future too.
But there are even more hard-headed reasons for the UK to take the action we propose.
If Gaddafi’s attacks on his own people succeed, Libya will become once again a pariah state, festering on Europe’s border, a source of instability, exporting strife beyond her borders.
A state from which literally hundreds of thousands of citizens could seek to escape, putting huge pressure on us in Europe.
We must also remember that Gaddafi is a dictator who has a track record of violence and support for terrorism against our country.
The people of Lockerbie, one hundred miles away from here, know what he is capable of.
I am clear: taking action in Libya is in our national interest and that’s why Britain…
…with our allies like America and France…
…and alongside the Arab world…
…must play our part in responding to this crisis.
IS THIS ANOTHER IRAQ?
The next question people are asking is this: is this going to be another Iraq?
The answer is very clearly no.
The UN resolution – which we, with the Lebanese, the US and French helped draft – makes it quite clear there will be no foreign occupation of Libya.
The people of Libya don’t want that, and neither do the UK and its allies.
It is not going to happen.
And it is not just that this time, the action has the full and unambiguous legal authority of the United Nations…
….nor is it just that this time it is backed by Arab countries, and by a broad international coalition.
There are millions in the Arab world who want to know that the UN, the US, the UK, the international community, care about their hardship, their suffering and their oppression.
There is – if you like - an Arab world, not just Arab leaders, asking us to act with them to stop the slaughter. We should answer that call.
WILL WE BE SHOULDERING AN UNFAIR BURDEN?
People also ask: is Britain going to shoulder too big a burden?
Again the answer is no.
The UN resolution confers a duty on Britain, along with the other permanent members of the Security Council who supported it, to play our part in implementing it.
With the fourth largest military in the world, Britain has the means to play that part.
But given that British troops are currently engaged in Afghanistan, that part must be in line with our resources.
And so it will be.
And crucially, we will work alongside a number of Arab countries in the region, who themselves called for this action in the first place.
In other words, the British people should know that we are doing our fair share – no more, no less.
WILL IT WORK?
People will also ask: don’t the risks outweigh the benefits?
Plainly, there is no action without risk.
But alongside the risks of action, we have to weigh the risks of inaction.
The sight of the international community condemning violence but doing nothing to stop it.
The effect across North Africa and the Middle East if Gaddafi succeeds in brutalising his own people.
The humanitarian consequences for the city of Benghazi and beyond.
The consequences for Europe of a failed pariah state on its southern border.
All of these are simply too great to ignore.
That is why the Security Council has judged it right to act, and why Britain and others have supported it.
WHERE NEXT?
People will ask: if you are acting here, in Libya, why not act in other places, like Zimbabwe?
Let me be clear: This is not the start of some ideologically-driven mission, without limit, in which we set out to cure all the world’s ills.
We plainly cannot do that.
But just because we can’t solve all the world’s problems does not mean we should not do what we can, where we can, when it is in our national interests to do so.
And let’s understand the particular nature of the Libyan situation …
… this is happening now right in front of us …
…a dictator no longer wanted by his people, but determined to play out in real time a bloody slaughter …
…and it is a slaughter that we now have the power, the demand and the legal basis to stop.
That is why what we are doing is right.
ARE WE STIRRING UP TROUBLE?
The final question I want to address relates to the bigger picture.
Are we being a bit too idealistic about what's happening in North Africa and the Middle East?
Are we just stirring up more trouble for the future?
There is the argument, sometimes made explicitly, sometimes put in a more round about way …
“Arabs and Muslims - these people can't really do democracy…
…and, do you know what, even if they could, the danger is that even more extremist elements could triumph”.
Let me take these points on because they are really important.
To me, the idea that Arabs and Muslims can't do democracy is not only deeply condescending and smacks of racism, it is utterly wrong and has been shown to be wrong.
All around the world, when people have been given the chance to make their voice heard, to decide their own government, they have grasped it.
Arab - or not. Muslim - or not.
Look at Indonesia and Turkey. Just look at recent events in Egypt and Tunisia.
I passionately believe that those things we take for granted…
…like the rule of law, open government, basic human rights like the freedom to speak, vote and worship…
…are not just British values, or Western values.
They are universal values.
And this argument that more freedom in these places must mean more extremism - I think that's wrong too.
This is not a choice between stability on the one hand and political reform on the other.
Indeed, in the long term, I believe they are two sides of the same coin.
When you deny people their basic rights, you can increase the pressures in which extremism flourishes.
If people’s hunger for a job and a voice are not met, there is a real risk that the frustration and powerlessness they feel can mutate into something much more sinister and subversive.
But if their aspirations are met, if their human rights are recognised, if they can hold their government to account, get a good job and play a part in political life……there is a far better chance that they will reject extremism and play a full, lawful, part in society.
That’s why political reform in the Arab world is not just a good thing in its own right - it’s also a key part of tackling the extremism that threatens the security of us all.
Now of course, we need to be realistic.
Democracy is the work of patient craftsmanship.
The building blocks of successful democracy, like a free and independent judiciary, the rights of individuals, and a free media, must be laid carefully and diligently.
This cannot happen overnight.
And it cannot be imposed by the West down the barrel of a gun.
It must evolve naturally, over the course of time, and in harmony with the different cultures, traditions and histories of different countries.
But let's give it a chance to evolve.
In Libya right now, that chance is being snuffed out by Gaddafi.
The action we are taking will protect the Libyan people and give them the chance to build their own future – on their terms, as they wish.
CONCLUSION
Before I close, let me say this.
We should never contemplate military force without thinking carefully of the people we ask to go into action…
…and their families and loved ones too.
Our Army, Navy and Air Force are the best of our nation.
The bravest of the brave.
And here in Scotland, where people have for decades made a disproportionate contribution to our Armed Services, it is good to be able to say – loud and clear – that we honour and revere all that you are and all that you do.
We must never ask you to act without thinking of the consequences...
…but I believe this course is good and just and right.
So this, in summary, is how we are acting:
At a level that matches our resources…
…in alliance with other countries…
…with the full authority of the United Nations Security Council…
…and in accordance with international law.
And this is why we are acting:
Not just the moral duty to step in when a dictator starts killing his own people.
Not just the belief that a movement towards more open and democratic government in the Arab world will be good for the entire world.
But the clear and hard-headed understanding that a stable Libya, free from Colonel Gaddafi’s brutality, is in Britain’s long-term interests too.
This is where our ideals and our interests come together.
And I know, that the British people, as they always do in times of crisis…
…will unite behind the action we are taking …
…in the cause of justice and freedom …
…for the safety of our nation and the security of our world.