Lockerbie: Gordon Brown must answer 'double dealing' charge

The Telegraph ^ | 9/1/2009 | Alan Cochrane

[bruinbirdman]

So now we know … not only did Kenny MacAskill not want the Lockerbie bomber to die in a Scottish jail, Gordon Brown didn’t want that either. That at least is the verdict of a senior Libyan envoy who says he was told as much by a British Foreign Office minister.

If accurate and, true to form on this vexed issue, Downing Street continued with their refusal to discuss the Prime Minister’s view on Tuesday night, this revelation puts a completely new gloss on the entire situation.

Mr Brown has consistently refused to say whether he agreed with the decision of the Scottish Justice Minister to send Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi back to Libya.

But the documents released by the Scottish Executive last night show that the Libyans say they were told by Bill Rammell, then a Foreign Office minister of state, that the British premier did not “want Mr Megrahi to pass away in prison”.

This news, imparted at a meeting between Scottish officials and a delegation from Libya in March, was relayed by Abdulati Alobidi, his country’s European minister. It followed a warning from the Libyans at a previous meeting with Mr Rammell, that Megrahi’s death in prison would have “catastrophic effects for the relationship between Libya and the UK”.

Now, it is true that the Libyan minister’s version of events is his interpretation of something he says he was told by Mr Rammell. However, it is not clear why he would fabricate the exchange. After all, the view attributed to the Prime Minister — and also to David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary — was wholly consistent with what the Libyans believed to be the official British position, namely that London was prepared to use Megrahi as a bargaining chip in achieving better relations, including trade relations,

[fight_truth_decay]

Tony Blair tells CNN's John Vause that Libyan claims of a Lockerbie deal are not true..."Blair/Libya/Megrahi/SNP/Straw: Deal or No Deal, BLAIR IS INNOCENT" [30th August, 2009]