Fury at SNP leader Alex Salmond's Lockerbie 'gaffe' in TV debate

ALEX Salmond has been accused of insulting the victims of the Lockerbie bombing after he conceded that the perpetrator of the Dunblane massacre would have been treated differently to Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi by the Scottish Government had he survived.

Speaking as he clashed with opponents in a live television debate yesterday, Mr Salmond admitted Thomas Hamilton would never have been freed on compassionate grounds had he lived and later contracted terminal cancer.

His comments were described by opponents as a gaffe, and appeared to contradict an insistence made by justice secretary Kenny MacAskill in the wake of the decision to free Megrahi, that mercy should be shown "no matter the severity of the provocation or the atrocity perpetrated".

Asked by a viewer whether Hamilton would have been considered for early release had he not turned the gun on himself following the 1996 massacre, Mr Salmond said: "No, Thomas Hamilton should not and would not have been released."

He insisted the decision made by Mr MacAskill was done "for the right reasons" and that the UK government also had no wish to see Megrahi die in jail.

• Sketch: Clapped-out audience fail to add spirit to leaders' television debate

Mr Salmond's admission came during a televised debate with Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy, shadow Scottish secretary David Mundell and Lib Dem Scottish spokesman Alistair Carmichael on Scottish issues broadcast live on Sky News.

Mr Salmond will not appear on ITV and BBC debates, but he agreed to the Sky event because it was shown across the UK.

The politicians clashed on the economy, the banking crisis as well as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but it was Mr Salmond's admission that drew most criticism in the aftermath.

Political opponents called for an apology and the US families of the Lockerbie victims said the remarks were "astounding".

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray said: "Today's comment's from the First Minister are an insult to Megrahi's 270 victims and Alex Salmond should apologise to the Lockerbie bombers victims families immediately.

How the leaders rated in the Scottish TV election debate

"Thomas Hamilton could have applied for compassionate release in the same way as Megrahi. The decision would have been taken on the same grounds of life expectancy, the sentence and the nature of the crime. Alex Salmond needs to clearly explain why it was right to release Megrahi but it would not have been right to release Thomas Hamilton."

Mr Mundell added: "Astonishingly, while saying he was right to release Britain's biggest mass murderer, he said in the same circumstances he would not have released the Dunblane murderer Thomas Hamilton. He now needs to explain – why one and not the other?"

Frank Duggan, the official spokesman for the US families of Lockerbie victims said: "The inference that Hamilton's crimes were worse than the Lockerbie murders is astounding. How can anyone say that with a straight face? It shows just how insincere and duplicitous were MacAskill's statements that the nature of the crime was not at issue, just the state of Megrahi's health."

But a senior government source said the criticism was "ridiculous", because the situation was "entirely hypothetical and never likely to arise".

The source added: "The justice secretary had to deal with the decision as it arose. It is a hypothetical question – Thomas Hamilton shot himself."

And an SNP spokesman said the accusations were a "desperate attempt by Labour and the Tories to divert attention from the real issues of this election."

He added: "Mr Megrahi has terminal prostate cancer, and he was sent home to die based on the medical report of the Scottish Prison Service Director of Health and the recommendations of the Parole Board and Prison Governor."

A clash over how an independent Scotland would have coped with the banking crisis dominated the early exchanges of yesterday's debate, which also looked at civil liberties and youth unemployment.

Mr Murphy came under attack for the invasion of Iraq, a war Mr Salmond described as "illegal". And Mr Mundell said troops had been treated in a "shameful" manner because of a lack of helicopters.

But Mr Murphy told The Scotsman he had "really enjoyed" the debate. "Alistair made some good points but they're soft on DNA, they don't match Labour's ambitions."

"David Mundell had to score a series of knockout blows but I don't think he even landed a glancing blow."

Mr Carmichael said the debate was "the reason people go into politics" and David Mundell said it was "excellent".

The SNP's deputy leader, Nicola Sturgeon said the "statesmanlike" Mr Salmond was the clear winner, and insisted that his success had shown "what is missing from the UK leaders debates – a real alternative view and a different perspective to the metropolitan parties and metropolitan media."