Justice
Secretary Kenny MacAskill today rejected allegations that he urged the only man
convicted of the Lockerbie bombing to drop his appeal to smooth the way for his
compassionate release.
Mr MacAskill came under pressure from
opposition parties to make an immediate statement to the Scottish Parliament
following the publication of the semi-autobiographical book Megrahi: You Are My
Jury on Monday.
In the book, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi
claims Mr MacAskill held a "private" discussion with Libyan foreign
minister Abdulati al-Obedi in which "he gave him to understand that it
would be easier to grant compassionate release if I dropped my appeal".
But in a statement to MSPs, Mr
MacAskill said "these claims are wrong", adding that he would be
"entirely comfortable" with the appeal being reopened.
He also confirmed that there is a
mechanism for the appeal to be reopened even after Megrahi's death.
Mr MacAskill said: "Scottish
Government officials were present throughout my meeting with Mr al-Obedi.
"At no time did I or any other
member of the Scottish Government suggest to Mr al-Obedi, to anyone connected
with the Libyan government, or indeed to Mr al-Megrahi himself, that abandoning
his appeal against conviction would in any way aid or affect his application
for compassionate release."
He added: "The Scottish
Government had no interest whatsoever in Mr al-Megrahi's appeal being
abandoned.
"I had no involvement in Mr
al-Megrahi's decision to drop his appeal against conviction - that was entirely
a matter for him and his legal team."
He said MSPs would want to know
whether there is a mechanism for an appeal still to be heard, even
posthumously.
He said: "I can confirm to the
Chamber that there is.
"It would involve an application
being made for a further reference by the SCCRC (Scottish Criminal Cases Review
Commission), the Commission deciding to make a reference and for the High Court
to accept such a reference.
"These, of course, are not
matters for me as Justice Secretary to decide upon.
"These are decisions for others
to make, but I think it is important that we as a Parliament are aware of the
position.
"I neither sought the
abandonment nor continuation of Mr al-Megrahi's appeal, it is not for me to
either seek or oppose a potential appeal, posthumous or otherwise.
"That is correctly a matter for
others, and I would have every confidence in the Scottish criminal justice
system were there to be another appeal. That is a matter I would be entirely
comfortable with."
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