Copping-out on Lockerbie

Government Ministers in London and Edinburgh are playing a sordid game of pass the buck over the Lockerbie disaster.

Now that Libyan bomber Abdelbasset al-Megrahi has been sent home, relatives of the 270 people killed in the atrocity want a public inquiry.

In a fair imitation of Pontius Pilate, Foreign Secretary David Miliband washes his hands of responsibility, saying such an investigation "should be a matter for the Scots".

Alex Salmond's SNP Government claims an international inquiry would go "well beyond our restricted remit and responsibilities", and should be carried out by "those with the required powers" - ie, the UK Government.

With both London and Edinburgh evading the issue, the poor cops in Dumfries have been ordered to reopen the worst case of terrorist murder in British history 21 years after the event.

This police investigation looks like a smokescreen behind which politicians in both capitals can retire. Dr Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the bombing, suspects as much. "If it is just a dodge to prevent an investigation into why the lives of those killed were not protected, then I would be livid," he says. Prepare to get cross, Jim.

[The above is the text of an article by Paul Routledge in today's edition of the Daily Mirror. Hits the nail on the head, I think.]