[This is the headline over a report in today's edition of The Guardian on the Foreign Secretary's statement yesterday in the UK Parliament. The following are excerpts. The most important revelation is that contained in the second and third paragraphs, which I have italicised.]
David Miliband has revealed that the UK government supported the decision to free the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing because his death in a Scottish jail would have damaged trade and diplomatic ties to Libya.
The foreign secretary disclosed that Libya and Scottish National party ministers were told in advance that the government agreed "as a matter of policy" that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi should be freed on compassionate grounds because of his terminal cancer.
His remarks, made in a statement on the Megrahi affair to MPs on their first day back after the recess, confirm that the government had formally sanctioned the release by making its views known to both sides.
Miliband insisted that UK ministers had no power or desire to pressurise the Scottish justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, to release Megrahi because that was solely a matter for the Scottish legal system.
But he would make "no apology" for protecting business links with Libya, British jobs and the government's efforts to win Libyan help on security and counter-terrorism, including tackling al-Qaida terrorists in north Africa who killed the British tourist Edwin Dwyer in May. (...)
But Miliband's attempts to settle the controversy surrounding Megrahi's release were rebuffed by senior Tories, the Liberal Democrats and some Labour backbenchers, who accused the government of seriously damaging relations with the US and betraying the 270 victims of the atrocity.
William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said the government's handling of the affair had been "characterised by confusion and obfuscation". Gordon Brown's refusal to make a statement on whether he agreed with Megrahi's release for nine days was "deeply regrettable", he said. Even after the prime minister had said he respected the Scottish government's decision, there was further confusion after the children's secretary, Ed Balls, claimed that "no one" wanted Megrahi to be released. (...)
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman, repeated his demand for an independent inquiry, and said it was now clear that "trade came before justice".
[The report in The Times by Scottish Political Editor, Angus Macleod, makes much of the gulf between the UK Labour Government's approval of Megrahi's release and the virulent disapproval of it expressed by the Labour Opposition in the Scottish Parliament. The story is headed "Scottish Labour at odds with London over al-Megrahi".]
MISSION LOCKERBIE
ReplyDeleteBritish Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that Britain's interests would be damaged if Mr. Megrahi were to die in a Scottish prison. Mr. Miliband knew exactly that Mr. Megahi was a political hostage and behind the surprising release of the innocent Mr. Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, was the FEAR of Scotland's and Great Britain's, before the result and open secrets of the current Appeals (miscarriage of justice) and the following damages compensation from Libya up to 40 billion US$!
The dropping of the successful promising "Lockerbie appeal" was the central part for the freedom of Mr. Abdelbaset Al Megrahi
To the memory: The Appeal Court in Edinburgh was reported on (20.2.2008) that the Scottish Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini QC had agreed to open the secret text about the electronic MEBO MST-13 timer in the document under "national security" which relieves Libya and its official Mr Megrahi.
But the UK Government by Advocate General Lord Davidson QC, blocked the progress and has argued that it is not in the public interest to release the secret document. He claimed: "The national security was at stake"!!!
Additional: Request of the unknown state which had delivered in September 1996, under national security, a document to the Crown Office, about the clear facts over the MEBO MST-13 Timer fragment (Polaroidphoto picture, Scottish Police no. PT/35B).
Please give to the Crown and to the secretary of justice Mr. McAskill the granted permission for opening the document under national security!
More Information on our website: www.lockerbie.ch
by Edwin and Mahnaz Bollier, MEBO Ltd., Switzerland