Lockerbie prosecutors yet to meet Libyan defector Moussa Koussa

[This is the headline over a report published this evening on The Guardian website. It reads in part:]

Scottish prosecutors who want to interview the dissident Libyan minister Moussa Koussa about the Lockerbie bombing have failed to meet him four days after they flew to London. [RB: According to Kenny MacAskill, they have been in London since Friday, 1 April.] (...)

In a carefully worded statement released on Monday evening Crown Office officials said they had met with the Foreign Office. "It was a very positive meeting and steps are being taken with a view to arranging a meeting with Mr Moussa Koussa at the earliest opportunity in the next few days."

There were press reports that prosecutors believed they would meet Koussa on Monday but sources close to the investigation have confirmed no interview has yet taken place. The Crown Office and police refused to comment. (...)

The Foreign Office confirmed Koussa had not been offered immunity but nor had he been arrested. He was not under any obligation to meet prosecutors, police or other officials. "Moussa Koussa is not detained by us and has taken part in discussions with officials since his arrival, of his own free will," a spokeswoman said.

"As the Crown Office statement on Monday evening indicated, Crown Office and FCO officials had a very positive meeting to address these matters on Monday with a view to arranging a meeting with Moussa Koussa at the earliest opportunity. It is not appropriate for us to say anything more at this stage."

The Times reported on Monday that the prosecutors were "fully expecting the interview to take place" that day. David Cameron, the prime minister, and William Hague, the foreign secretary, said they would encourage Koussa to talk to the Scottish team. But they played down speculation that he would agree.

[The BBC News website later published a report headed Moussa Koussa interviewed over Lockerbie. It reads in part:]

The former Libyan foreign minister, Moussa Koussa, has been interviewed by Scottish police investigating the Lockerbie bombing, the BBC has learned. (...)

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said: "We can confirm that officers of Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, supported by COPFS, today met....[Mr Moussa Koussa].....in relation to the ongoing investigation into the Lockerbie bombing."

BBC Scotland correspondent Glenn Campbell said: "It's not clear how productive the interview was.

"The Scottish authorities hope that Moussa Koussa and other senior figures who have deserted Col Gaddafi's regime can help them close in on those who ordered the attack."

Our correspondent said the questioning was led by Det Supt Michael Dalgliesh, of Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, who is continuing the Lockerbie investigation.