Scots MPs' Lockerbie bomber fury

EDINBURGH - The Scottish Justice Secretary faced down a barrage of angry criticism from members of the Scottish Parliament yesterday amid mounting dismay over his decision to release the Lockerbie bomber.

Speaking to a specially recalled Parliament, Kenny MacAskill accused Libya of reneging on a promise not to honour the return of Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi with a hero's welcome.

But he insisted that despite the jubilant scenes at Tripoli airport, the release of the terminally ill former intelligence officer on compassionate grounds had been the right thing to do.

MacAskill answered dozens of questions from MSPs furious at his handling of the affair as the former lawyer battled to save his own political career and shore up support for the minority Scottish National Party Administration led by Alex Salmond, who sat next to him throughout the impassioned session.

He described the homecoming in Libya as a matter of great regret, and said the authorities showed no compassion or sensitivity to the families of the victims of Lockerbie.

He echoed comments from Downing St that the celebrations breached promises made by President Muammar Gaddafi.

"Assurances had been given by the Libyan Government that any return would be dealt with in a low-key and sensitive fashion," he said.

Nonetheless, he repeated almost word for word his statement last week in which he outlined his motives for allowing Megrahi to return home to die - a move that has caused an outpouring of fury and anguish among relatives of the American victims, fierce criticism from the highest level of the United States Administration and anger at home.

A mission to Libya by Prince Andrew, who has visited the oil-rich country several times in his role as a British trade ambassador, was scrapped.

Megrahi, 57, is the only person to be convicted of the bombing of the Pan Am flight over Lockerbie in 1988 in which 270 people died including 189 Americans, the worst atrocity ever carried out on British soil.

He was freed still vehemently protesting his innocence, having dropped his appeal after serving less than eight years in a Scottish jail when a team of doctors treating him for terminal prostate cancer concluded he had less than three months to live.

MacAskill, who until last week was virtually unheard of outside Scotland, claimed he enjoyed the support of senior religious leaders as well as the backing of major political figures including former Labour First Minister Henry McLeish and former Liberal Democrat leader Lord David Steel.

He once again took personal responsibility for his decision and insisted he had not come under any political pressure to sign the release papers.

"It was based on the law of Scotland, and the values I believe we seek to uphold. It was not based on political, diplomatic or economic considerations," said MacAskill.

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray accused the Justice Secretary of mishandling the affair and said he had overlooked the rights of the victims' relatives and wider society, not least in his decision to meet Megrahi to hear his appeal for release personally.

"Does he understand how ashamed we were to see our flag flying to welcome a convicted bomber home? Does he understand how astonished we were when he visited a convicted murderer in prison?" said Gray.

Tory leader Annabel Goldie suggested Megrahi could have been released from prison to receive treatment in a hospice or safe house under police protection.

She told MSPs: "I want to make clear that the decision to release Mr Megrahi was not done in the name of Scotland or in the name of this Parliament or in my name."

- INDEPENDENT