The statement from his office on Thursday called on the court to cease pursuing him and to abide by the rule of law - "the absence of which will cause mockery of the nation... unnecessary tension amongst the various pillars of state and possibly destabilize the country".

BBC: Asia

It always felt, when you covered a Brussels summit, that Britain was there on sufferance, but the rules said otherwise: technically we were and are an equal member of a 27-nation union whose oft-explained "three pillars" of governance were applied for the common good.

BBC: How will the two speed Europe get into gear?

We value our solid friendship with this great nation and consider it one of the pillars of our policy.

CNN: Transcript: Clinton, Mubarak news conference