A Labour MSP was not "entitled" to ask whether
ministers made it clear to the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing that
he did not have to drop an appeal in order to be released on compassionate
grounds, Alex Salmond has said.
In a statement to Holyrood on Wednesday, Justice Secretary
Kenny MacAskill gave his absolute "assurance and word" that no-one in
the Scottish Government or the Scottish Court Service put pressure on
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi to withdraw his appeal against conviction.
Critics
have insisted that, even if no pressure was applied, ministers should have made
it clear to Megrahi that he did not have to drop his appeal to secure his
release.
Speaking
at First Minister's Questions, Labour justice spokesman Lewis Macdonald said:
"Mr MacAskill and Mr Salmond have told us often since the event that the
release of Mr al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds was not dependent on the
withdrawal of his appeal.
"Can
the First Minister tell us today if they ever made that clear to Mr al-Megrahi,
and if so when?"
The
First Minister replied: "You know, having totally failed to land a blow on
the Justice Secretary yesterday, I don't think Lewis Macdonald is entitled to a
rematch today. Kenny MacAskill made that absolutely clear yesterday. If he had
thought up better questions yesterday perhaps he wouldn't be as frustrated
today."
Mr
MacAskill said in his statement "it was simply made clear (to Megrahi)
that under the terms of the prisoner transfer agreement... a prisoner transfer
could not be considered while any proceedings were ongoing".
The
prisoner transfer agreement was a separate process unrelated to compassionate
release. Mr MacAskill did not say whether he made it clear that compassionate
release could not be considered while any proceedings were ongoing.
Mr
Macdonald suggested that Mr MacAskill left Megrahi "with the very clear
impression that withdrawing the appeal was the prudent thing to do".
Speaking
at the launch of the semi-autobiographical book Megrahi: You Are My Jury on Monday, author John Ashton said Mr
MacAskill or his department "should have made it perfectly clear to Mr
Megrahi that he did not have to drop his appeal".
[All very entertaining, of course. But when will Scottish politicians begin to address the real issue, namely the disgraceful conviction, rather than the compassionate release?]
[All very entertaining, of course. But when will Scottish politicians begin to address the real issue, namely the disgraceful conviction, rather than the compassionate release?]
They're deflecting the focal point quite effectively here. The whole point of the book is the unsafeness of the Megrahi conviction. And after rereading Dr. Hans Köchlers account of the trial, I think even more so.
ReplyDelete"You know, having totally failed to land a blow on the Justice Secretary yesterday, I don't think Lewis Macdonald is entitled to a rematch today. Kenny MacAskill made that absolutely clear yesterday. If he had thought up better questions yesterday perhaps he wouldn't be as frustrated today."
ReplyDeleteI find that statement, and I speak as a former admirer of Salmond's, completely disgusting.
The issue of Lockerbie cannot surely be a game to him, a political football, when the deaths of 270 people are at the centre of it? How arrogant he sounds as he taunts the opposition. How spineless too that as he taunts he refuses utterly to address the issues of an extremely unsafe conviction and the deaths of 270 innocent people who deserve justice. I am ashamed of him. Lockerbie is not about Party-politics: it is more important than that! How sad that Salmond seems to not get that. This isn't about "landing a blow" on the Justice Minister. It is about justice itself.
MISSION LOCKERBIE, 2012, doc. nr.7097.rtf.
ReplyDeleteKenny MacAskill MSP- was under massive pressure before Al Megrahi's release on August 2009 - which can be derived that the actual description of Al Megrahi in its new book 'You are my Jury' correspond with the truth (against MacAskill)...
On 17 July 2009, Lord Trefgarne of the UK House of Lords wrote to Secretary MacAskill as a member of the House of Lords and Chairman of the Libyan British Business Council (LBBC). Lord Trefgarne noted (text excerpts):
Dear Cabinet Secretary
As you know Mr Megrahi is seriously ill and may indeed not survive for too much longer. Against this background the question arises as to whether he should be released or repatriated on one basis or another. Release on bail is of course a matter for the Court but transfer under the recent UK-Libya Prisoner Transfer Agreement is for you. Compassionate release, I am advised, is also your preroga-tive.
I am of course well aware that none of these options is straight-forward. However I believe the matter becomes daily more urgent, not least because of Mr Megrahi's deteriorating condition. Furthermore the Libyan authorities have made it clear that should he die in prison in Scotland there will be serious implications for UK-Libyan relations. This prospect is of grave concern to LBBC members, not just Scottish ones.
May I therfore now urge you to bring this matter to a swift and satisfactory conclusion. If the PTA is your preferred course then Mr Megrahi will have to withraw his appeal and notify the Court accordingly. I am reliably advised that he is, in principe, ready to do so. Presumably, the Crown is also ready to abandon is separate appeal relating to sentence.
I appreciate that this process may be unattractive to you for one or more reasons beyond my knowledge. In that case, I Release on Licence o Compassionate Grounds. I submit that these powers vested in you are tailor made for Mr Megrahi's condition and the related circumstances. I hope you agree..
May I end by emphasising that speed is of the essence principaly, of course, for humanitarian reasons, but also because of the shadow which may otherwise fall over the UK-Libyan relations- and erspecially the interests of LBBC Scotish members and indeed others.
Rt Hon Lord Trefgarne PC
by Edwin Bollier, MEBO Ltd. Switzerland, URL: www.lockerbie.ch