Report: UK conspired for bomber’s release
Britain’s former Labour government tried to make it easier for Libya to seek the Lockerbie bomber’s release, according to an official report that could stoke anger in Washington.
Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was jailed for life for blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland in 1988, killing 270, including more than 190 Americans. Scottish authorities freed him in August 2009 on compassionate grounds after concluding he had just months to live because of cancer. He is still alive.
The report said the government decided British interests would be hurt if he died in a Scottish jail because of “the extremely high priority attached to Mr. Megrahi’s return by the Libyans.”
The U.K. government helped the Libyans appeal to the devolved Scottish government for Megrahi to be transfered under prisoner agreements or released on compassionate grounds, the report said.
