United States: Fury at 'UK attorneys for Libyans'

Published on 07/02/2011 18:40

AMERICAN relatives of the victims of Lockerbie and politicians last night reacted with anger to revelations that the former UK government attempted to help "facilitate" the release of the only man convicted of the attrocity.

Many of them have claimed commercial interests had driven the decision to release Abdelbaset Mohmed Ali al-Megrahi and believed the publication yesterday of government papers added weight to the accusation.

They did not accept that the lack of evidence of a direct contact or pressure on Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill proved that none was applied.

New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, who has been calling for an inquiry into the decision, said: "The UK didn't just turn a blind eye to Megrahi's release - they cut deals that set the terrorist free.

"The UK and Scottish governments' repeated denials, even when confronted by specific and compelling evidence, get more ludicrous by the day."

Stephanie Bernstein, who lost her husband Michael in the atrocity, said: "It's disgusting, absolutely appalling. It looks as if the Labour government were acting as attorneys for the Libyans."

Frank Duggan, president of Victims of Pan Am 103, added that relatives always "believed it was diplomatic and commercial interests behind the release".