The Scottish Government has written to the Libyan Government, asking it to refrain from public celebrations to mark the first anniversary of the Lockerbie bomber’s release from prison.
Friday marks a year since justice minister Kenny MacAskill chose to free Abdelbaset Al Megrahi on compassionate grounds a decision he was forced to defend again on Thursday.
Megrahi, the only man to be convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988, which killed 270 people, is suffering from prostate cancer. The decision to release him was taken after experts claimed he only had three months to live.
His release sparked outrage in the US, where senators continue to press the Scottish Government to take part in an official inquiry into how that decision was reached, while some relatives are calling for his medical records to be released.
Many critics claimed the sight of Scottish Saltires being flown at Tripoli airport as Megrahi returned to Libya a year ago embarrassed Scotland.
The Scottish Government has moved to prevent a repeat of any similar incident by contacting Libyan leader Colonel Gadaffi to to ask for the anniversary to pass without celebration.
There have been claims that Gadaffi will ignore this request and visit Megrahi to mark the anniversary.
A spokesman for the Scottish Government confirmed that a letter had been sent to the Libyan Government expressing concern about any celebrations.
He said, “This is an obvious step for the Scottish Government to take, but it is only based on press reports.
“On behalf of ministers, a senior Scottish Government official contacted and wrote to a senior official at the Libyan Embassy earlier this week to express our concern about these press reports.
“Last year we informed the UK and US authorities of the decision in advance so that they could make diplomatic representations to Libya.””A decision I didn’t choose to make”Meanwhile, Mr MacAskill stood by his decision to release Megrahi. He said, “It was a decision I didn’t choose to make it was a decision I had to make. It was my responsibility and, accordingly, I followed the rules and laws of Scotland.
“I acted appropriately and I stand by the decision.”
Although he admitted Megrahi had surprised medical experts by surviving for a full year after his release, Mr MacAskill said there is “irrefutable” evidence that his condition is terminal.
On Thursday a cancer doctor involved in discussions leading up to the release of Megrahi defended the medical findings.
Consultant oncologist Grahame Howard was one of four experts whose advice was used in determining that Megrahi had three months to live.
But Dr Howard, of Edinburgh Cancer Centre, said he did not make the “final assessment” which paved the way for Megrahi’s release to Libya.
In a statement issued through the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), Dr Howard said, “As an external adviser I was involved in discussions leading up to the point where Mr Megrahi was considered for release on medical grounds.
“The background medical portion of that application is a fair reflection of the specialist advice available at the time.
“The final assessment of prognosis was made by Dr Andrew Fraser, taking into account the deterioration in his clinical condition.”Cancer prognosis defendedThe only publicly-available document on Megrahi’s health is from Dr Fraser, the SPS director of health and care.
While describing the three-month prognosis as “reasonable,” the report states no-one “would be willing to say” if Megrahi would live longer.
Mr MacAskill said the Scottish Government has published all the evidence it can surrounding Megrahi’s release and he was aware of the angry response his decision would trigger.
He said, “I knew it was going to divide but there was no way I could broach a consensus people were either going to agree or disagree.”
He added that he would meet any US senators who come to Scotland to discuss the issue.
Mr MacAskill said, “If US senators come across and they ask for a meeting, I’ll be more than happy to try and provide it. I did meet congressmen back in February. Indeed, the door is always open.
“What’s quite clear is the people of Scotland think the decision should be made here in Scotland, by the justice secretary, and they do believe it was made in good faith without any intervention, or indeed any consideration, of political, diplomatic or economic considerations.”
In a new poll of 1212 people, commissioned by the SNP, 72% believe First Minister Alex Salmond was right to refuse requests to appear before a foreign inquiry, while 76% agreed that the decision to release Megrahi should have been made by a Scottish minister.
Just 14% of respondents believed lobbying by BP, who won a contract to explore oil fields in Libya, influenced Mr MacAskill, while 54% agreed with the Scottish Government that the release was “solely in line with Scots law.”
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said, “This poll demonstrates overwhelmingly that the people of Scotland believe that the justice secretary took the decision for the right reasons, that it was right for the Scottish Government and no-one else to take the decision and that it was right not to answer to a US Senate hearing on the issue.”
Scottish Labour leader Ian Gray has called on Mr MacAskill to apologise for releasing Megrahi.
He said, “How much compassion did his government show to the American relatives of the 270 people killed at Lockerbie?
“The SNP got the balance wrong. Their pain and distress has been accentuated by how Alex Salmond and his government have mishandled this case, which was Britain’s biggest ever terrorist atrocity.”