Brown 'didn't want Megrahi to die in jail'

GORDON Brown and David Miliband supported releasing the Lockerbie bomber from prison, official minutes of a meeting with the Libyan government have revealed.

Neither the Prime Minister nor the Foreign Secretary wanted Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi to die in Greenock jail, according to documents which were made public for the first time yesterday.

The revelation came in notes taken by a Scottish Government delegation of a meeting with Libya's minister for Europe, Abdulati Alobidi, in March this year.

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Mr Alobidi said he had been informed of Mr Brown and Mr Miliband's opinion during a meeting with Bill Rammell, who was then a senior Foreign Office minister.

And Mr Rammell last night confirmed he had told Libya's minister for Europe, Abdulati Alobidi, in March that Mr Brown felt Megrahi should not die in prison.

The news places fresh pressure on the Prime Minister, who has refused to state whether he agreed with the decision to release the only man convicted of Britain's biggest terrorist atrocity.

Earlier, Conservative leader David Cameron repeated his call for an independent inquiry.

There is also increased speculation the release of Megrahi was linked to deals over access to oil, compensation for IRA victims and progress on bringing to justice the murderers of PC Yvonne Fletcher.

The issue became more complicated after the Scottish Government indicated that the Libyans had hinted that a refusal to grant a prisoner transfer would be challenged through a judicial review, possibly leaving the justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, with no choice.

The prisoner transfer agreement was made between the UK and Libyan governments, and appeals by First Minister Alex Salmond for Megrahi to be excluded from the deal were ultimately ignored.

In the end, Megrahi's health and the decision to grant compassionate release meant Mr MacAskill was able to refuse the prisoner transfer request with impunity.

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Prior to Mr Rammell's comments last night, Scottish and UK ministers denied that any deal had been done and claimed the decision was made purely on compassionate grounds.

The claim that Mr Brown did not want Megrahi to die in jail is contained in documents published by the Scottish Government yesterday from the representations and advice received by Mr MacAskill.

The claim was made by Mr Alobidi during a meeting with Mr MacAskill on 12 March. Notes from the meeting state: "Mr Alobidi confirmed he reiterated to Mr Rammell that the death of Mr Megrahi in a Scottish prison would have catastrophic effects for the relationship between Libya and the UK. Mr Alobidi went on to say that Mr Rammell had stated that neither the Prime Minister nor Foreign Secretary would want Mr Megrahi to die in prison, but the decision on transfer lies in the hands of the Scottish ministers."

The Foreign Office did not deny the report, while Mr Rammell said prior to his comments last night: "Neither the Libyans or the Scottish Executive were left in any doubt throughout this entire process that this was a decision for the Scottish Executive, over which the UK government sought no influence.

"I made it clear in all my dealings with the Libyans that the decision around al-Megrahi was exclusively for the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Executive alone."

Mr Cameron said the documents left serious questions to be answered. "The British government stands accused and, indeed, the Prime Minister stands accused of double-dealing; on the one hand, apparently saying to the Americans they wanted Megrahi to die in prison, but on the other hand, saying privately to the Libyans that they wanted him released.

"We have got to get to the bottom of this. I don't think we can now trust the government to get to the bottom of this, so the time has come for an independent inquiry led by a former permanent secretary or former judge to find out what more papers need to be released so we can see what the British government was doing in our name."

Dr Jim Swire, who campaigned for Megrahi's release, said yesterday's disclosures did not address the British families' concern of whether Megrahi was actually guilty of the bombing.

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Dr Swire, who lost his 23-year-old daughter, Flora, in the Lockerbie bombing, demanded an inquiry into who carried it out.

And Susan Cohen, who lost her 20-year-old daughter, Theodora, in the atrocity, accused politicians of putting profits before justice.

Yesterday's revelation is an embarrassment to Iain Gray, the Scottish Labour leader, who has consistently said Megrahi would not have been released if he had been First Minister.

However, a spokesman for Mr Gray tried to dismiss Mr Alobidi's claims. "This is a third-hand claim made by people who told the world the Queen and Prince Andrew were dancing in delight over the release of Megrahi," he said.

Instead, Labour turned its fire on Mr MacAskill, claiming the documents revealed he had "badly mishandled" the whole process. In particular, they said the Scottish Government had failed to produce any further medical documents supporting the prognosis that Megrahi had less than three months to live.

Labour also raised questions over whether Mr MacAskill put pressure on Megrahi to drop his appeal. According to minutes, it was the minister who raised the issue when the two men met.

In addition, Labour is angry that, three months before getting police advice on whether Megrahi could be released to a house in Scotland, Mr MacAskill seemed to promise the Libyans that a compassionate release would mean a return to Libya.

Richard Baker, the party's justice spokesman, said: "These documents show some of the discrepancies at the heart of this decision and the scale of mismanagement. This entire affair has damaged Scotland, and Kenny MacAskill is responsible. He will have to answer a number of questions in parliament."

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A spokesman for the Scottish Government said the exchange on the appeal was merely a factual one between Mr MacAskill and Megrahi, and the minister had made it clear any decision on whether to proceed was up to Megrahi and his lawyers.

He also pointed out Strathclyde's Deputy Chief Constable Neil Richardson had said that keeping Megrahi in a house in Scotland "would be of extreme significance" to the force, as at least 48 officers would be required to guard him each day.

On the medical advice, the spokesman said: "It was the conclusion of the report submitted by the Scottish Prison Service director of health and care, in light of all the medical information and having reviewed the contributions of all of the clinicians involved in Mr Al Megrahi's case, that 'the clinical assessment is that a three-month prognosis is now a reasonable estimate'."

MSPs are set to debate the decision in Holyrood today.

The Plea

'As I turn now to face my God, I have nothing to fear'

WHEN Kenny MacAskill made his highly controversial visit to HMP Greenock on 6 August to meet Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, he received a handwritten note from the man convicted of the worst mass-murder in British legal history.

Written in English in scrawling block capitals, the words were those of a desperate man.

Megrahi, only too aware his time was running out, recognised there was little chance of his appeal against conviction finishing before he died and spoke of his "burning desire" to clear his name.

After thanking Mr MacAskill for coming to see him, he declared that he was innocent of the Lockerbie bombing, claiming that he was "unjustly convicted" of the "heinous crime".

He told the justice secretary that there was "little chance" of him living into next year and spoke of how much he missed his family back home in Libya.

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"I have not seen my wife and children for over six months," Megrahi wrote. "They last came (to Scotland] in January of this year.

"I have spent more than ten years in prison. I met my parents twice during that time, the last being some three and a half years ago."

Every day he phoned his elderly mother, who did not know that he had terminal cancer.

His separation from his own family meant he empathised with the families of the Lockerbie victims.

"I know how much the victim's (sic] families suffer. I share their frustration they continue to have my sempathy (sic] for their unimaginable loss. As a result of that terrible loss some of them have feelings of hatred towards me. I certainly do not return that to them.

"Unfortunately neither my language nor yours enables me to give proper expression to the sense of desolation that I suffer and feel being her convicted of something that I didn't do and being reviled for that by the mothers and fathers who have suffered so terribly."

Megrahi acknowledged there was little chance of his appeal finishing before he died and spoke of his "burning desire" to clear his name. "My dreams of returning home clear are no more," he said.

He added: "As I turn now to face my God, to stand before Him, I have nothing to fear."

The Inmate

An exemplary prisoner who kept his distance from others

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ABDELBASET Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was an "exemplary" prisoner during the nine years he spent in jail, according to the papers released by the Scottish Government yesterday.

The Libyan – also known as prisoner number 55725 – had never presented the authorities with any disciplinary problems, nor posed a security risk in his time in Greenock Prison.

The report said Megrahi had become withdrawn – "although never in any negative or destructive way" – because of his prostate cancer.

"His manner and demeanour are exemplary and he relates well to staff," the prison governor's report stated, adding: "He distances himself from the main population of the hall and restricts his dealings to a handful of prisoners."

The only matter of concern was a report that Megrahi had been in contact with an Arabic television station to take part in a phone-in, but the matter was resolved without any action being taken.

The report also said that Megrahi was unlikely to reoffend if released.

The Police

STRATHCLYDE Police said it would cost about 100,000 a week to protect the Lockerbie bomber if he were freed from prison to stay in Scotland, according to a document released today.

The security implications of releasing Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi to the family home in Newton Mearns, on the south side of Glasgow, would be of "extreme significance" to Strathclyde Police, the paperwork said.

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The details emerged in the week after justice secretary Kenny MacAskill told the parliament that he had been advised by the force's deputy chief constable of "severe" security implications if Megrahi were released from prison but remained in Scotland, a scenario which would require a minimum of 48 officers. Mr MacAskill told MSPs he had ruled out such an option.

Among the documents published by the Scottish Government yesterday was a note entitled "discussion with Neil Richardson, DCC Strathclyde", dated Friday, 14 August.

It stated that if it were decided to release Megrahi to the Newton Mearns house, he would most likely be assessed as a "protected person", meaning that police would have an obligation to protect him.

"Bluntly, the implication would be of extreme significance to the police force," the document said.