MacAskill was wrong

Published on Saturday 22 August 2009 20:28

SCOTLAND is unused to suffering international vilification. We have always taken pleasure in a global popularity that is hugely disproportionate to the size and population of our country. Our well-founded boast has been that Scots are liked everywhere. That is no longer the case.

The spectacle of a well-drilled Libyan crowd waving Scottish saltires to greet the man who committed the worst slaughter on Scottish soil since the Butcher of Cumberland was a deeply humiliating experience for the whole country. It was not an unforeseen eventuality. Long before his public decision to release the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill had been warned of the likelihood of a triumphalist circus in Tripoli. Gordon Brown wrote to the Libyan government requesting it should not be permitted (in Libya, there is rarely such a thing as a spontaneous demonstration). US President Barack Obama, too, appealed for restraint. The outcome we saw on our television screens – as did the rest of the world.

As a consequence, the flag of Saint Andrew is now associated, at best, with indulgence towards terrorists. That might have been an acceptable price to pay if some moral imperative of natural justice, such as irrefutable evidence of Megrahi's innocence, had dictated his release. As it was, there was no such imperative. By so insistently invoking compassion as his motive for releasing Megrahi, MacAskill confused the roles of individual conscience and the state's responsibility to administer justice. Mercy and compassion, whether inspired by Christian or humanist sentiments, are admirable personal virtues. It is uplifting to see, as sometimes happens, the families of murder victims subjugating their natural anger to their moral will by publicly forgiving the killer. But even when such an edifying act of forgiveness occurs, the government does not on that account release the murderer from prison. The state has the duty, impartially and unemotionally, to dispense justice. It was that responsibility MacAskill was required to discharge and he failed adequately to do so.

There is nothing reprehensible or lacking in compassion about compelling a mass murderer to die in confinement, provided all necessary medical provision is made available. In Megrahi's final days, that would probably have meant transfer to a secure hospital, with his friends and family in attendance. But the release of a convicted murderer with only eight years of a 27-year sentence served subverts justice. Myra Hindley died in jail. If the Yorkshire Ripper were now to develop terminal cancer, would public opinion endorse his release?

For a political party that aspires to lead a sovereign Scotland on the world stage, the SNP has shown itself woefully incapable of negotiating the pitfalls of geopolitical engagement. This was the first time, virtually by accident, that a decision impinging on the reserved area of foreign affairs fell to be taken by a minister in the devolved government. And, regrettably, this particular administration failed to step up to the mark.

It is important to bear in mind that it was a political, ministerial decision, not a judicial one. As MacAskill expressed it in his official statement: "These are my decisions and my decisions alone."

Yet, having briefly taken ownership of his conduct, he proceeded to contradict himself, even to the extent of tortuously blaming Jack Straw for his own, highly compromising visit to Megrahi in Greenock Prison. By far the most incongruous of MacAskill's complaints, however, was the alleged lack of input from the UK government. For an SNP minister who favours total independence from the United Kingdom to lament lack of direction from Westminster could only be termed bizarre.

It very obviously reflected the justice secretary's desire to divert criticism over his decision on to as many other quarters as possible. The minister's feeble representation of himself as somehow a prisoner of protocols carries no credibility whatsoever.

Not only was MacAskill's decision wrong, but the manner in which he delivered it was also offensive. MacAskill attempted to present his view as being dictated by immutable Scottish values and morality. He went further, suggesting that those many Scots who would rather see Megrahi die in jail would have "debased" the true essence of the Scottish national character. Are we "debasing" Scottish values by demanding that a mass murderer should end his days in prison, albeit surrounded by the world's most sophisticated palliative care?

On this reading, those millions of Scots who disagree with MacAskill's release of the Lockerbie bomber are, in some sense, less than Scottish. Such arrogant nonsense is insulting. Such Nationalist definitions of what it means – politically and culturally – to be Scottish are unacceptably narrow and prescriptive.

The occurrence of the 9/11 atrocity during the intervening period may have slightly dimmed the Lockerbie atrocity. Let us restore it to its proper moral perspective: three children were among the 259 people who died on Pan Am flight 103, while 11 Scots were killed and a town devastated. Megrahi was an acknowledged officer of the JSO, the external arm of the Libyan intelligence apparatus, the leading sponsor of international terrorism at the time. The American politicians who pleaded with MacAskill not to release Megrahi included Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Teddy Kennedy. These are not vengeful relics of the Bush era, but the most liberal politicians in America. Their representations should have given MacAskill and First Minister Alex Salmond pause for reflection.

The irony of the situation whereby it is Scotland's first Nationalist administration that has made us an object of anger and derision internationally and provoked moves for an American consumers' boycott of Scotch whisky and other goods will not be lost on the public. The question persists: was Megrahi's release part of an elaborate deal? There are certainly grounds for suspicion; what is certain is that the truth will leak out eventually. In the meantime, Megrahi will now pursue his appeal in the court of world opinion rather than in a Scottish court. We can expect a steady flow of disinformation, which Libya's JSO has had years to prepare, with a view to embarrassing as many western governments and agencies as possible.

The Scottish Government has shown itself well equipped to engineer its own embarrassment. Our country's reputation has never stood so low around the world. If our values – and our flag – have been debased, it is the fault of Salmond and MacAskill. That is something for which they must both be held to account when the Scottish Parliament meets in emergency session tomorrow and when it returns to debate the matter fully next month. The questions are only beginning.