30 Aug 2009

The first minister of Scotland says the release of the Lockerbie bomber was not in line with UK trade interests with Libya, as the plot thickens with the publication of leaked papers.

Ministerial letters leaked to the Sunday Times daily showed UK ministers had negotiated with the oil-rich country and agreed to include him in a prisoner transfer deal in 2007 because it was "in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom."

Correspondence between British Justice Minister Jack Straw and his Scottish counterpart Kenny MacAskill, dated 19 December 2007, clearly indicates a change of stance over Megrahi's fate, allegedly in the middle of a stalled oil deal.

The negotiations were over a lucrative oil exploration contract for BP worth billions of pounds and the difficulties were quickly resolved afterwards.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond reiterated Sunday that the decision to free the bomber, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, was on compassionate grounds permitted under Scottish law.

He told the BBC that Nelson Mandela, “not just as the towering figure of humanitarian concern… in the last generation but as somebody who brokered the agreement that led to the Lockerbie trial in the first place,” had lent his voice to the "international support" for the move.

MacAskill released terminally-ill Megrahi on August 20, sparing him the remaining 19 years of his 27-year sentence.

The 57-year-old Libyan is the sole man convicted for the 1988 bombing atrocity abroad the PanAm 103 that killed 270 people.

While Scotland mulled over whether to consider a prison transfer or release Megrahi, London repeatedly said the decision rested with Scotland, but suspicions about the motivations behind the move have not been satisfied.

UK opposition parties want an inquiry into the matter as well as detailed notes on any trade or other deals made with the Libyan government prior to Megrahi's release.

Last week, Cabinet papers showed that three ministers had paid visits to the Libyan capital, Tripoli, in the months leading up to Megrahi's release.

Straw has so far maintained that the negotiations were not over an oil deal, but sought to improve relations with the country after Tripoli agreed to give up its "weapons of mass destruction."

presstv