Hague to face wrath of senators over Libya

Published on Saturday 17 July 2010 22:11

FOREIGN Secretary William Hague is to hold talks with US senators in a bid to dampen claims in Washington that the release of the Lockerbie bomber was linked to oil deals with Libya.

•Foreign Secretary William Hague

The US state department confirmed yesterday that Hague will speak directly with senators on Capitol Hill in the hope of defusing the row over the affair.

The move comes after four senators announced last week they wanted a full investigation into allegations that Megrahi's release had been a factor in a lucrative deal to allow BP to begin drilling for oil off the Libyan coast.

Their hearing has been called for 29 July and senators are set to make clear this week who they want to call for evidence. Along with BP executives and State Department officials, UK and Scottish ministers including Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and former Justice Secretary Jack Straw could be among those asked to attend.

The accusation from the senators, who are still furious over BP's handling of the Gulf oil spill, is that the company used its influence to sway the British government's handling of Megrahi's case in order to smooth the path to an oil deal.

The company has admitted lobbying the UK government over a Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Libya before it signed an exploration deal, but both the UK and the Scottish governments have categorically denied any link and pointed out that Megrahi was not released under that agreement, but in a totally separate move on compassionate grounds by Mr MacAskill.

MacAskill was told that Megrahi, who has cancer, had only three months to live. MacAskill is now facing questions of his own, as Megrahi prepares to mark the first anniversary of his release next month.

Yesterday, accusations were also being made concerning Tony Blair after it was reported he had recently visited Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in Libya to offer advice. Blair met Gaddafi in 2007 to seal "the deal in the desert" when both the oil deal and a prisoner transfer agreement were discussed.

Officials in both London and Edinburgh are frustrated that US senators appear to have misunderstood the terms under which Megrahi was released. The timing of their inquiry is particularly poor, coming just as Prime Minister David Cameron prepares to visit Washington this week for his first meeting in the USA with Barack Obama.

Hague, who discussed the matter with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week, is now expected to try and lay out the facts.

A spokesman for the US State Department said last night: "Foreign Secretary Hague offered to communicate directly with the Hill and the secretary agreed that was a good idea. She said that this was an important issue in the Congress and recognising that fact, the foreign secretary made a good faith offer to provide perspective on the decision to release Megrahi, which they both agreed was an error."

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office added: "We are keen to dispel concerns in the US about the circumstances behind the release."