Libya Has Made Fools of Us All Over Lockerbie Bomber Megrahi, and Much Else Besides
THE TELEGRAPH: Gaddafi was playing Tony Blair long before the release of the Lockerbie bomber, argues Con Coughlin.

It doesn't matter how much money BP stands to make from its deep-water exploration off the Libyan coast – it is never going to compensate for the humiliation Britain has suffered over last year's decision to repatriate the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi.

Britain's leading oil company says it has postponed plans to drill its first deep-water well in Libya's Gulf of Sirte until later in the year, because of the concerns that have been raised by the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. But that is not the only reason BP is holding fire: its senior executives fear that if work commences just as Megrahi is celebrating his first year of freedom, it would further infuriate the members of the US Senate who are already demanding a full Congressional inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Megrahi's release.

The fact of the matter is that Megrahi, according to what we were told at the time, should not be alive, and certainly not the subject of the sickening spectacle that has been arranged today by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the Libyan dictator's son and political heir. This will see 500 teenagers, flown in from around the world at vast expense, acting as guests of honour at a ceremony to mark the one-year anniversary of Megrahi's return home from his Scottish prison cell.

Precisely what role BP played in securing Megrahi's release, or what bearing this had on its $900 million oil exploration contract, remains unclear. The company says it did no more than lobby the Scottish Parliament for a prisoner swap. But many senior officials in the Obama administration believe that BP was more deeply involved. They point to the role played by Sir Mark Allen, a former senior MI6 officer who headed the negotiations that persuaded Libya to stop work on its nuclear weapons programme, in late 2003, and wrote to the Foreign Office seeking Megrahi's release.

The lenient approach that Scottish officials adopted in dealing with Megrahi's case, in which no serious assessment appears to have been made of the terrorist's medical condition, certainly fits with the approach that Tony Blair encouraged British officials to adopt towards Libya following the nuclear deal. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi might remain one of the region's less appealing dictators, but that did not prevent Mr Blair from working tirelessly to bring him in from the diplomatic cold. Continue reading and comment >>> Con Coughlin | Friday, August 20, 2010

Special Report: The Libya Investment Firm and the Release of the Lockerbie Bomber
THE TELEGRAPH: Americans are questioning why a company was set up in London a week after news broke that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, may be released.

Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in Tripoli. Photo: The Telegraph
The terraced house just around the corner from the American embassy in London looks like most in the affluent street. Tall and elegant, only the shiny brass plaque gives a clue to what lies beyond the black front door.

The name reads Dalia Advisory Limited, a company established by Libyan businessmen just a week after the country's officials were told the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was being considered for release on compassionate grounds.

Dalia Advisory is in fact a "front" for the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), a sovereign wealth fund with £80 billion, to invest in Britain and beyond. The Georgian town house, bought for £6 million, is, ironically, only a few yards from the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square.

Senior business sources have told The Sunday Telegraph that had Megrahi died in a British jail, the LIA would have taken its vast sums elsewhere. "If Megrahi had perished in Scotland, we would have become a pariah state as far as the Libyans were concerned," said one source.

Oliver Miles, a former ambassador to Libya and now deputy chairman of the Libyan British Business Council, said: "At the time of his release everyone knew that if he died in a Scottish jail, it would be bad for our relations."

But some 1,500 miles from the LIA's Mayfair headquarters, Megrahi, 58, is clinging defiantly to life despite his terminal cancer – much to the embarrassment of the authorities in Britain.

The former Libyan intelligence officer is living at government expense in a prosperous Tripoli suburb in a two-storey villa surrounded by gardens, where he is looked after by his wife, their five children and a team of medics.

He enjoys superstar status, repeatedly feted as a "much-loved" hero of the Libyan people. According to Megrahi's family, he has received up to 30,000 house guests – a white tent was erected in the garden for visitors – while newborn babies across Libya have been named after him. Gaddafi family members have also made several private visits, friends say.

But he is said to be lower in spirits than when he first arrived home, and does not leave the house – spending much of his time propped up in bed, sedated for the pain.

Prof Karol Sikora, one of the doctors who suggested Megrahi had just three months to live, insists that there is no miraculous recovery. "I am well-informed he is dying; he is just not dying as fast as we predicted," he said. Scottish authorities insist that the study by Prof Sikora and two other doctors, which was paid for by Libya, had not been considered and was not a contributory factor to Megrahi's release.

However long Megrahi now survives, the fact is business between Britain and Libya is currently booming. British exports to Libya are now double what they were a year ago while imports from Libya have risen three fold. In the first two months of this year alone, the UK exported £110 million of goods and services. >>> Robert Mendick, Philip Sherwell in New York and Andrew Alderson | Saturday, July 24, 2010

NZZ am SONNTAG: BP und der kranke Attentäter: Laut Libyen befindet sich Lockerbie-Attentäter im Sterben – Die Ölfirma BP hat sich vor fast einem Jahr für die Begnadigung des todkranken Terroristen al-Megrahi eingesetzt. Nach den Prognosen müsste der Libyer heute längst tot sein. >>> Kristina Bergmann, Kairo | Sonntag, 25. Juli 2010

Salmond Defends Lockerbie Release
YAHOO! NEWS: Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has defended his government's decision to release the Lockerbie bomber.

Mr Salmond believes the Scottish government made the right choice to free Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds last August.

"You can only take a decision based on information at the time", he said.

Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill also stands by the move.

He said: "Al Megrahi is terminally ill. I stand by my decision. I dealt with it following the rules. It's easy to criticise from the sidelines." >>> | Wednesday, July 21, 2010

BP Admits 'Lobbying UK Over Libya Prisoner Transfer Scheme But Not Lockerbie Bomber'
THE TELEGRAPH: BP is facing fresh scrutiny into whether it was involved in the release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, after the oil giant admitted lobbying the British government over a prisoner agreement with Libya.

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet Al Megrahi, left, after his release, with Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's son Seif al-Islam. Photo: The Telegraph
BP said it pressed for a deal over the controversial prisoner transfer agreement (PTA) amid fears any delays to negotiations would damage its “commercial interests” and disrupt its £900 million offshore drilling operations in the region.

But it denied claims that it had been involved in negotiations concerning the release of Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber freed by Scottish authorities last year.

The admission came just hours after Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, pledged to investigate allegations of BP's involvement in his release ahead of its planned new drilling in Libya.

It followed a letter from four US senators who had accused the company of having a hand in the release of Megrahi, who was released last year by the Scottish government on "health grounds" and compassionate grounds.

Mrs Clinton’s intervention came after the American Democratic senators called for an investigation into BP’s interests in Libya, as they tried to connect the oil group with a deal to free the convicted terrorist.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the company admitted it had lobbied the British Government over the controversial prisoner deal but denied any involvement in Megrahi’s release.

“It is matter of public record that in late 2007 BP told the UK Government that we were concerned about the slow progress that was being made in concluding a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya,” the company said in a statement.

“We were aware that this could have a negative impact on UK commercial interests, including the ratification by the Libyan Government of BP's exploration agreement.”

But a spokesman added: “The decision to release Mr al-Megrahi in August 2009 was taken by the Scottish Government. >>> Andrew Hough | Thursday, July 15, 2010

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New Row over 'Non-expert' Cancer Diagnosis of Lockerbie Bomber al-Megrahi
TIMES ONLINE: The furore over the release of the Lockerbie bomber intensified today over the medical advice given to the Scottish government on how long he has to live.

It emerged that the prognosis that Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi had a life expectancy of only three months or less was supported by an unnamed doctor who had no expertise in terminal prostate cancer.

The final report on al-Megrahi’s condition which went to Kenny MacAskill was drawn up by Dr Andrew Fraser, director of health and care with the Scottish Prison Service.

The three-month time limit is important because Scottish Prison Service guidance says that compassionate release from prison “may be considered where a prisoner is suffering from a terminal illness and death is likely to occur soon. There are no fixed time limits but life expectancy of less than three months may be considered an appropriate period.”

Dr Fraser’s report says: “Whether or not prognosis is more or less than three months, no specialist ‘would be willing to say’.”

Dr Fraser’s report, however, also contains a reference to the “opinion” of an unnamed doctor - thought to be a GP - who, says the report, “dealt with him (al-Megrahi) prior to, during and following the diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer”.

It adds: “Having seen him during each of these stages, his clinical condition has declined significantly over the last week (July 26-August 3).

“The clinical assessment, therefore,is that a three month prognosis is now a reasonable estimate for this patient.”

Political opponents at Holyrood were today claiming that the conclusion reached by Dr Fraser was based on what the unnamed GP had said and had not taken into sufficient account the more guarded views of the prostate cancer specialists.

Dr Richard Simpson, a Labour MSP and a former associate member of the British Association of Urological Surgeons and member of its prostate cancer working group, has raised doubts about the three-month prognosis.

He said: "The Scottish government has misrepresented the medical evidence. The Justice Secretary chose to disregard the advice of specialists and release al-Megrahi on the opinion of one doctor, who we now know was not a specialist.

"At the very least, Kenny MacAskill should have sought a second opinion confirming the patient's prognosis from a specialist in palliative care. That he did not do so showed a disregard for due process and the significance of the decision." >>> Angus Macleod, Scottish Political Editor | Thursday, August 27, 2009