Megrahi medical evidence 'pretty much worthless' says angry Hague

Published on Wednesday 27 July 2011 17:19

THE medical advice which led to the release of the Lockerbie bomber has been shown to be "pretty much worthless", William Hague said as he re-opened the row over the decision to free Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi two years ago.

The Foreign Secretary was responding to fresh video footage taken of Megrahi attending what appeared to be a government rally in support of Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi earlier this week.

Mr Hague said the footage showed once again that the decision to let the bomber free was "a great mistake", as US relatives of the Lockerbie victims said they were "outraged" by the sight of Megrahi being used as a propaganda tool.

But justice secretary Kenny MacAskill, who decided to release him, continued to defend his decision, insisting the convicted bomber was "terminally ill", saying he stood by his decision to let the bomber go free.

Megrahi was released on 20 August 2009 on the basis of a medical report from the Scottish Prison Service which suggested a three-month prognosis in his life expectancy was a "reasonable" estimate to make.

This conclusion, by the Prison Service's director of health Dr Andrew Fraser, was crucial to the process as compassionate release can only be considered for prisoners when a prisoner's lifespan is around this time frame.

As Britain announced it would be recognising the Libyan opposition-led National Transition Council yesterday, Mr Hague once again condemned the decision to let Megrahi go.

The bomber's appearance on state TV was the first pictures of him since September 2009.

Of the decision to free him, Mr Hague said: "This was absolutely the wrong thing to do. It shows the medical advice it was based on was pretty much worthless and I think many people, particularly the families of those killed at Lockerbie, I think their anger and outrage at this release will be further intensified by what we have seen."

Megrahi was released from a Scottish prison almost two years ago on compassionate grounds, after serving nearly eight years of a 27-year sentence. In 1988, the Pan Am Flight 103 travelling from London to New York was targeted in a bomb attack, causing it to crash in Lockerbie.

But Mr MacAskill stood by his decision yesterday. "Colonel Gaddafi is an evil man. We condemn him out of hand. It is for the British government to explain why they have been doing deals in the desert with him. Our position is that we abhor him. Mr Megrahi was released because he has got prostate cancer and is terminally ill."Professor Roger Kirby, founder of the Prostate Centre, said last night: "I am not surprised Megrahi is still alive as the decision to release him was based on flawed medical advice. It was always foolhardy to put a three-month prognosis on his survival."