Kenny MacAskill under fire

THE Scottish Justice Secretary was criticised in a parliamentary report today for the way he handled the release of the Lockerbie bomber.

An inquiry by MSPs found fault with the decision by Kenny MacAskill to visit Abdelbaset Ali Al Megrahi in Greenock jail.

The report said the visit to the prison was "inappropriate" and also said a second opinion should have been obtained on the medical evidence which paved the way for the cancer-stricken bomber's release.

MSPs described a "lack of clarity" in the decision to grant compassionate release to the terminally-ill Libyan.