British Police Training Libyan Force 'Insult to Memory of Pc Yvonne Fletcher'
THE TELEGRAPH: British police officers have been secretly training members of Libya's force despite the country's refusal to hand over the killer of Pc Yvonne Fletcher.

Pc Fletcher was shot dead outside the Libyan embassy in 1984. Photo: The Telegraph
The training programme, which was approved by Jacqui Smith when she was home secretary, began shortly after Tony Blair met the Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, in 2007. It has been described as an "insult to the memory of Yvonne Fletcher" and a "stab in the back" for officers.

The disclosure came days after the Police Federation accused the Government of "selling its soul for trade deals" with Libya after allegedly agreeing that the gunman who shot Pc Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy 25 years ago would not be tried in Britain.

It was understood that Pc Fletcher's own force, the Metropolitan Police, was among those thought to have sent officers to Libya, along with at least one officer from Northern Ireland, where dozens of civilians were killed by IRA bombs made with Libyan-supplied Semtex.

The police training scheme was organised by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) following a request from the Foreign Office, the British embassy in Tripoli and the Home Office. It involves British officers training their Libyan counterparts in leadership and forensic techniques.

Paul McKeever, the chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, described the Foreign Office as "naïve and insensitive" in setting up the scheme.

"This will anger and disgust rank and file officers who believe Libya should be more proactive in securing the arrest of Pc Fletcher's killer," he said. "This one-way traffic, where we do all the giving and they just take, must stop." >>> Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor | Friday, September 18, 2009

Times Poll: 61% Think al-Megrahi Release Was about Oil, Not Compassion
Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi leaving Scotland for Libya. He is suffering from advanced prostate cancer. Photo: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Gordon Brown’s Government faces widespread public suspicion that the release of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, had more to do with oil than his terminal cancer.

A special Populus poll for The Times, conducted on Wednesday, reveals widespread public criticism of the release and scepticism about the reasons, with much of the blame falling on the Prime Minister.

The poll followed the public defence of the release by Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Minister, on Monday and Mr Brown’s comments the following day.

Questions were solely about this issue and did not include voting intentions.

Three fifths of those questioned (61 per cent) disagreed with the decision to return al-Megrahi to Libya on the ground of compassion, with 27 per cent agreeing.

The continuing controversy over the background to the decision, with reports of meetings between British ministers and members of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s family and the Libyan Government, have made people suspicious. Nearly half (45 per cent) thought it had more to do with oil than al-Megrahi’s terminal illness — 24 per cent disagreed.

Mr Brown’s attempt to distance himself from the move, saying that it was a decision for the Scottish government, has not gone down well, with 56 per cent saying that has handled the matter badly, and 23 per cent thinking that he had done well.

In the ranking of disapproval, Mr Brown was second only to Colonel Gaddafi. Some 63 per cent thought that the Libyans had handled the affair badly, while 15 per cent approved of their actions. >>> Peter Riddell | Friday, August 28, 2009