Leave to abandon granted

The High Court of Justiciary has granted leave to Abdelbaset Megrahi to abandon his appeal. The court (Lord Justice General Hamilton, Lord Eassie and Lady Paton) doubted whether leave was required, but granted it anyway.

Maggie Scott QC for Megrahi informed the court that her client's prostate cancer was highly aggressive, his condition (as certified by three independent consultants) was grave, and he was in considerable pain and distress. His absolute priority now was to return to his homeland to die surrounded by his family. It was for that reason alone that he had instructed his lawyers to abandon his appeal.

The court raised with Ronnie Clancy QC for the Crown the issue of the Crown's separate appeal against sentence. Mr Clancy stated that the Lord Advocate had not yet reached a decision on whether to abandon this appeal (without which prisoner transfer cannot take place) but would consider her position in the light of the court's decision on Mr Megrahi's Minute of Abandonment and would seek to secure that the timing of her decision did not impede any decision on prisoner transfer or its implementation.

The court announced its decision after retiring for ten minutes. The Lord Justice General announced that the court granted Mr Megrahi leave to abandon. He also stressed that it was of the utmost importance for the Lord Advocate to reach her decision speedily. If she decided to abandon that could be effected by written intimation to the court, without the need for a sitting of the court to be convened.
A procedural hearing was fixed for three weeks' time, to take place only if the Lord Advocate had not by then abandoned.

The Daily Record's account of today's proceedings can be read here and that of BBC News here.