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| Britain |
| Lockerbie bomber: Britain denies trade deal |
| 2009-08-22 |
| The British Government has come under mounting pressure to explain its role in the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Al Megrahi, amid claims it was linked to a lucrative trade deal. Opposition parties said that ministers had "serious questions" to answer after Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, claimed that the decision to free Megrahi was tied to a trade agreement. The Foreign Office issued a strongly worded statement insisting there was no such deal and that Megrahi's release was purely a matter for the Scottish government. However Libyan television showed pictures on Saturday of Col Gaddafi himself meeting Megrahi and praising "my friend" Gordon Brown and the British Government for their part in securing his freedom. He said: "To my friends in Scotland, the Scottish National Party, and Scottish prime minister, and the foreign secretary, I praise their courage for having proved their independence in decision making despite the unacceptable and unreasonable measures that they faced. Nevertheless they took this courageously right and humanitarian decision. "And I say to my friend Brown, the Prime Minister of Britain, his Government, the Queen of Britain, Elizabeth, and Prince Andrew, who all contributed to encouraging the Scottish government to take this historic and courageous decision, despite the obstacles." Shadow Foreign Minister David Lidington said it was essential Mr Brown now answered the questions put to him by Tory leader David Cameron as to whether British ministers had at any time suggested or requested that Megrahi should be released or transferred to a Libyan jail. "I think there are some serious questions to be asked," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. "I am sure that the Libyans were pressing for Megrahi to be released and I think that what both Col Gaddafi and his son have said in the last 24 hours makes it even more important that Gordon Brown, our Prime Minister, answers the questions that David Cameron has put to him. It is very important, I think, for the reputation of our institutions of justice that it is made clear beyond any doubt that this was not connected with some political trade." Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Edward Davey said the Government in Westminster appeared to be acting in close co-operation with the SNP government in Scotland, which ordered Megrahi's release on compassionate grounds after serving less than eight years of his life sentence. "They are dancing around each other, not criticising each other. I don't think any pressure was actually put from Westminster on Holyrood. I think they are willing partners in this," he told the Today programme. "The new-found compassion is welcome on one level, but one does remember that there are billions of pounds of oil, gas, and bank contracts behind it. There is some evidence to suggest that, while there may not have been a written deal, we all know that diplomacy and trade operate in rather more subtle ways." The speculation about the role played by London has been fuelled by the disclosure that the Business Secretary Lord Mandelson met Saif al-Islam Gaddafi earlier this month while holidaying on the Greek island of Corfu. A spokesman for Lord Mandelson said at the time that they had discussed the Megrahi case only fleetingly and that the Business Secretary had not been cited on the issue. A statement from the Foreign Office, however, denied there was any trade deal behind Megrahi's release. It said: "There is no deal. All decisions relating to the Megrahi case have been exclusively for Scottish ministers, the Crown Office in Scotland, and the Scottish judicial authorities. No deal has been made between the UK Government and Libya in relation to Megrahi and any commercial interests in the country." |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #3 From an AP article on the subject: Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill made decision to release al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds because the Libyan has prostate cancer and was given only months to live by top British doctors. MacAskill said he rejected an option to release al-Megrahi under a prisoner transfer deal between Britain and Libya. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-08-22 15:27 |
| #2 I recall the annual requirement back in the 80s of having to read the Code of Conduct and Ethics in which a line that always stuck with me read - 'Not only is the act, but the appearance of the act is unacceptable.' |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-08-22 08:51 |
| #1 In other news: Lamps at Balmoral to get new wicks and oil. Meeting Abdel Basset al-Megrahi and his family late on Friday, Gaddafi thanked British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Queen Elizabeth for "encouraging" Scotland to release the dying prisoner from a Scottish jail, said Libyan news agency JANA. "This step is in the interest of relations between the two countries ... and of the personal friendship between me and them and will be positively reflected for sure in all areas of cooperation between the two countries," the Libyan leader said. Link |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-08-22 07:26 |