Friday 10 March 2017

No justification

[This is the heading over a letter from Dr Jim Swire that was published in The Herald on this date in 2008. It reads as follows:]

It is hard to see how the Westminster Foreign Secretary can justify his attempt to "protect" documents with Public Interest Immunity (PII) certificates on the grounds that they would harm the UK's relations with other nations, and that their release to the defence in the Lockerbie case would disadvantage the very public PIIs are designed to serve.
It appears these documents were supplied to the prosecution (and Dumfries and Galloway police) about 12 years ago, and concern the truth about a terrorist atrocity of nearly 20 years ago. It also appears they were considered by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) to be part of their reason for considering the original trial and appeal might have been unsafe. The Foreign Secretary must realise that the longstanding release of them to the prosecution, but not the defence, wrecks any chance of the next appeal being considered fair. Coupled with their inclusion in the SCCRC's referral back to appeal, this grossly selective restriction can only destroy any remaining vestige of faith in the freedom and independence of Scotland's judicial system.
No doubt the defence will continue to fight for the documents to be released to them. Meanwhile, the use of the PII certificates will be seen outside these islands as at best a delaying tactic by Whitehall, and at worst a calculated attempt to ensure Mr Megrahi does not get a fair appeal and the relatives are denied the truth about the murder of their loved ones, as are the the public, while Scotland's independent criminal law is seen as enslaved to Britain's politicians.

5 comments:

  1. This was a letter from the king of Jordan to British Prime Minister John Major. It states clearly that the perpetrators of the Lockerbie bombing were members of the PFLP-GC in an Iranian funded operation. The king was in a good position to know, for at the time, in protective custody in Amman, and under the watch of the king's chief security general was - and still is - Marwan Khreesat, master bomb maker for the PFLP-GC.

    When the SCCRC tried to examine this letter, they were subject to strict control. They were allowed to view it only within the confines of a police station, were not allowed to make any notes, nor to discuss it with the media or any member of the public.

    This is the type of government that ruled and still rules Britain. All inconvenient truths are kept hidden under the guise of "national security". Orwell is alive and well, and resident in Whitehall.

    ReplyDelete
  2. About us is perfectly right in what he is saying but the corruption that is been hidden in this country goes far deeper than Lockerbie. You can see examples of this all around you. Sweetheart tax deals for big corporations and rich people all kept hidden under secrecy laws. Police inquirys into top peoples pedophile activities(Operation Midland)turning into a shambles of incompetence. You can see instances of this all around you. In fact corruption is so embedded in the British system it is now a way of life.Everything is done by Bungs and Backhanders.Harrods Al Fiadh knew how the British system worked which is why he got his secretary to bring him 2 suitcases full of money every week. Yet the great British public accept all this as perfectly ok as nothing is done to punish or stamp out these corrupt practices.They are all in on it and thats what makes it so difficult to stamp out.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "National security" is one of the most common explanations for everything a government wants to hide. There is for this reason something totalitarian over the expression. "Public Interest Immunity". Sounds much better. Names _are_ important, Ms. Juliet! Here in Thailand we have a "National Council for Peace and Order". Now, who could ever disagree to the benefits of such a construction?

    Where there is no openness the government (and other human beings, but especially a goverment) will make its own truth as it sees fit.

    Having anyone viewing a document under the conditions described by About Us is very likely to be of virtually no value. By accepting the invitation it helped Westminster to close the matter.

    Then again, it may have helped SCCRC to their decision, as Jim Swire indicates.

    Of course the document will not be released before those who'd most like to see it are safely where they cause no more trouble.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I couldn't agree more with you both. At the top, from Thomas Cromwell and Francis Walsingham to the security services of today, the establishment must be maintained at all costs. For the benefit of whom one wonders, it's not exactly rocket science to work out. We in the UK are expertly versed in how to manage corruption, like the puppeteer who appears to control the marionettes with invisible strings, we have such a wealth of experience. Such also is the prejudice of the herd of cattle we refer to as the general public that they actually believe that corruption only exists in the likes of Nigeria, it could never happen here, the good Lord forfend as we lie back and bask in our mushroom culture. What jolly splendid folk we all are. Let's face it: 'Corruption is the lubricant that keeps the wheels of state turning' (or roughly along those lines), as a former Spanish prime minister once said.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I recall a scene from the Wizard of Oz. The "herd of cattle" are all bowing to the Sun God(Government)listening to his instructions. Dorthy's dog goes behind the bushes and uncovers a weasel of a man manipulating the levers controlling the Sun God.Thats exactly what we have got controlling our country. The weasel is the Shadow Government comprising of people like Rothschild (banking)Rockefeller (Oil)Soros and a number of enormously wealthy people all manipulating our laws and country to suit their agenda. This problem is global almost every country is subject to this manipulation some more than others. If a country should try to break away from this control as did Gadaffi and Libya then you see what happens to them.

    ReplyDelete