Scotland denies Libya paid Lockerbie bomber doctors
Posted: 06 September 2009 1051 hrs

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LONDON: Scotland rejected allegations Sunday that its decision to free the Lockerbie bomber because he is terminally ill was based on medical advice from doctors paid by Libya.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that the Libyan government paid for the advice that suggested Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi was eligible for compassionate release under Scottish law, namely that he had less than three months to live.

However, the Scottish government said the prognosis of the three doctors paid for by the Libyans - two of whom are British - came too late to affect Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill's decision to free Megrahi last month.

A spokesman said MacAskill had drawn on expert advice from "a number" of specialists for a clinical assessment of Megrahi's life expectancy, including two consultant oncologists and a palliative care team.

"Taking all the advice into account, the director of Health and Care at SPS (Scottish Prison Service) concluded that his clinical assessment was that a three month prognosis for the patient was a reasonable estimate," he said.

The revelations are the latest in a series of disclosures about the process that led to the release of Megrahi, the only person convicted of the 1988 bombing of a plane over the Scottish town of Lockerbie that killed 270 people.

His release was condemned by the United States, where many of the victims had lived, and sparked allegations of links to lucrative trade deals with oil-rich Libya - something Britain has strongly denied.

But the claims persisted Sunday, with a report that Prime Minister Gordon Brown declined to press Libyan leader Muammar Khadafi for compensation for victims of bombs Libya supplied to the IRA because he feared upsetting Tripoli.

Brown wrote to the victims' lawyer Jason McCue in October 2008 saying it was not "appropriate" to enter into bilateral talks with Libya on the issue of compensation, according to the Sunday Times.

He said "trade" was not the "core reason" for his decision, adding: "While the UK-Libya relationship does indeed include trade, bilateral co-operation is now wide-ranging on many levels, particularly in the fight against terrorism.

"I believe it is in all our interests for this co-operation to continue."

A spokesman for Brown's Downing Street office said in response: "As the prime minister makes absolutely clear in his letter to Mr McCue, trade considerations were not a factor in the government's decision that it would not be appropriate to enter into direct negotiations with Libya on this issue.

"The prime minister is sympathetic to the case put forward by the families of victims of IRA (Irish Republican Army) atrocities and met with a group representing them in December to listen to their concerns."

- AFP/yb