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August 22, 2009
Perfidious Albion
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Libyan fuhrer Muammar Gaddafi, claims the release of Lockerbie bomber/Libyan agent Abdelbaset Ali Al Megrahi was tied to a trade deal. You could knock me over with a feather.
Opposition parties said that ministers had "serious questions" to answer after Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, claimed that the decision to free Megrahi was tied to a trade agreement.
The Foreign Office issued a strongly worded statement insisting there was no such deal and that Megrahi's release was purely a matter for the Scottish government.
The Foreign Office issued a strongly worded statement insisting there was no such deal and that Megrahi's release was purely a matter for the Scottish government.
I may have to start boycotting British goods. And feel free to cancel those golfing holidays to Scotland.
Related: Stephanie Bernstein, widow of Michael Bernstein, a prosecutor who tracked down Nazi war criminals, summarized the problem.
"He is flying back to Tripoli on Gaddafi's private plane. He is going to be greeted like a hero by Gaddafi.
"MacAskill talks about showing compassion and mercy. This is weakness. This is how it will be seen by Gaddafi. This is how it will be played within Libya and this is how it will be seen by every single person that wants to do harm to people all over the world."
"MacAskill talks about showing compassion and mercy. This is weakness. This is how it will be seen by Gaddafi. This is how it will be played within Libya and this is how it will be seen by every single person that wants to do harm to people all over the world."
Update: Now Gaddafi broadly hints at a quid pro quo.
Even as the British Foreign Office denied the claims, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was hinting at the same allegation made by his son, Seif al-Islam, hours earlier.
"This step [Megrahi's release] is for the benefit of relations between Britain and Libya, and relations of personal friendship between me and them, and it will certainly be positively reflected in all fields of co-operation between the two countries," Col Gaddafi is reported to have said during his first meeting with the convicted Lockerbie bomber.
"This step [Megrahi's release] is for the benefit of relations between Britain and Libya, and relations of personal friendship between me and them, and it will certainly be positively reflected in all fields of co-operation between the two countries," Col Gaddafi is reported to have said during his first meeting with the convicted Lockerbie bomber.
Posted by Ghost of a flea at August 22, 2009 10:04 AM
