Labour 'assisted bomber's release'

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988, in which 270 people were killed
12 April 2012

The former Labour government did "all it could" to help Libya secure the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Britain's top civil servant is expected to say.

Sir Gus O'Donnell reportedly makes the admission in a review of the process that led to Abdelbaset al-Megrahi being freed on compassionate grounds in August 2009.

Prime Minister David Cameron is due to make a statement to MPs after a dossier of official documents shedding light on the controversy is published.

In an accompanying summary, Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus apparently concludes: "Policy was, therefore, progressively developed that Her Majesty's Government should do all it could, while respecting devolved competencies, to facilitate an appeal by the Libyans to the Scottish government for Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi's release under the Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) or for release on compassionate grounds."

Mr Cameron asked Sir Gus to conduct the review last year after promising US President Barack Obama that documents would be made public where possible.

The Prime Minister discussed Libya with American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when they met at a security conference in Munich on Saturday.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said they had "strongly agreed that the release of the Lockerbie bomber had been a mistake".

The tranche of letters, memos and minutes being released is described as "comprehensive".

Tony Blair and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi signed a PTA in 2007, and the UK reportedly dropped efforts to exclude Megrahi from the deal after Libya used a multibillion-pound oil deal with BP as a bargaining chip.

However, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill eventually sanctioned his release on separate compassionate grounds because he was suffering from cancer and supposed to have little time left to live. Megrahi - the only man convicted over the 1988 bombing which killed 271 people - is still alive in Tripoli.

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