Letter: We need independent Megrahi inquiry

But I don't think we should hold out a lot of hope that all relevant documents will be put in the public domain.

Head of the civil service, Sir Gus O'Donnell, recently refused to disclose notes of discussions between Tony Blair and George W Bush in the run-up to the Iraq war on grounds of diplomatic sensitivity.

A similar impasse is likely to occur over the whole question of freeing Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds.

The fact that intensive discussions took place at Foreign Office diplomatic level and between the Scottish and United Kingdom governments at civil service level should surprise no-one.

How else could the prisoner be flown back to Libya within an hour of justice secretary Kenny MacAskill's formal announcement that he was to be sent back to Libya?

The amount of preparation for this, in terms of security alone, must have been enormous.

But it does not negate this simple point: the geopolitical aspects were a matter for the UK government; the question of the conviction, incarceration and release were a matter for the Scottish Government.

What discussions went on between civil servants and diplomats behind the scenes will be of interest no doubt to students of government. In the end a Holyrood minister had to make a decision following advice. The case for a full inquiry into all aspects of the case remains a strong one.

It is for the United Nations or some other appropriate international body to carry it out. It would not just help dispel much of the lingering anxiety.

It would help lift the debate to a more important level than whether Megrahi should die at home or in Greenock Prison.

Bob Taylor

Shiel Court

Glenrothes