MacAskill defends Megrahi decision

Aug 24 2009

Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has told an emergency session of the Scottish Parliament it had been his "own decision" to free Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Al Megrahi on compassionate grounds.

He also accused Libya of breaking a promise not to give Megrahi a hero's welcome on his return home.

Mr MacAskill told an emergency session of the Scottish Parliament: "It is a matter of great regret that Mr Megrahi was received in such an inappropriate manner."

He added: "It showed no compassion or sensitivity to the families of the 270 victims of Lockerbie."

He went on: "Assurances had been given by the Libyan Government that any return would be dealt with in a low-key and sensitive fashion."

The Scottish Justice Secretary is facing his peers to defend the controversial decision to free the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing.

He decided on Thursday to grant the compassionate release of Megrahi, the terminally-ill Libyan who had served eight years of a life sentence for the 1988 terror attack which killed 270 people.

In the days following the decision, the Scottish Government and legal system have faced intense international scrutiny.

FBI director Robert Mueller spelled out his dismay in a letter to Mr MacAskill which accused him of giving comfort to terrorists around the world.

Former First Minister Jack McConnell, now a Labour backbencher at Holyrood, publicly criticised the decision, which he said damaged the country. But First Minister Alex Salmond has rigorously defended his Justice Secretary for making the "right decision" for the "right reasons".