LONDON - NATO's military action in Libya will last as long as needed, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Tuesday, contradicting ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

"The NATO action will last as long as it is necessary," Hague told Sky News in an interview from New York.

He was responding to a speech broadcast by Gadhafi on Tuesday in which he taunted NATO, saying: "The bombs of NATO planes will not last."