Britain denies there was a deal in bomber’s release

LONDON (AP) — Britain rejected Saturday any suggestion it had struck a deal with Libya to free the Lockerbie bomber — questions that arose when Moammar Gadhafi publicly thanked British officials as he embraced the man convicted of killing 270 people in the 1988 airline bombing.

Gadhafi praised Prime Minister Gordon Brown and members of the royal family by name for what he described as influencing the decision to let the terminally ill Abdel Baset al-Megrahi return home to die. Thousands greeted al-Megrahi at the airport as he arrived in Tripoli after being freed Thursday from a Scottish prison.

But British officials insisted they did not tell Scottish justice officials what to do — and in any case, they could not, because the decision was not theirs to make.

“The idea that the British government and the Libyan government would sit down and somehow barter over the freedom or the life of this Libyan prisoner and make it form part of some business deal .... it’s not only wrong, it’s completely implausible and actually quite offensive,” Business Secretary Peter Mandelson told reporters in London.

Britain has walked a fine line on the issue, as the government in London must distance itself from local affairs in Scotland. Though outraged at the jubilant reception al-Megrahi received in Libya, British leaders have refrained from criticizing the decision to free the man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, a decision made in Edinburgh under Scotland’s separate judicial system.

Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill decided to release al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds because the Libyan has prostate cancer and was given only months to live when assessed by four doctors. Compassionate leave for dying inmates is a regular feature of Scottish justice.

As the cameras rolled in Tripoli, Gadhafi hugged al-Megrahi in a meeting Friday, and al-Megrahi kissed the Libyan leader’s hand.

Libyan television showed pictures of Gadhafi singling out Brown, as well as “the Queen of Britain, Elizabeth, and Prince Andrew, who all contributed to encouraging the Scottish government to take this historic and courageous decision, despite the obstacles.”

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said Saturday the release was “entirely a matter for the Scottish government.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with palace policy.

Gadhafi’s embrace fueled outrage that has simmered at al-Megrahi’s reception in Libya, where joyful celebrants threw flower petals as the 57-year-old former Libyan intelligence agent stepped down from the jet late Thursday.

The constant videos of the Gadhafi hug and the kiss have added to the woes of Britain’s leaders. Mandelson left the hospital Saturday after a prostate operation only to find a scrum of reporters demanding answers about an alleged deal. He insisted that London and Tripoli did not negotiate.

To further drive home the point, Brown released the text of a letter he sent to Gadhafi urging that al-Megrahi’s return be treated as “a purely private family occasion.”

“A high-profile return would cause further unnecessary pain for the families of the Lockerbie victims. It would also undermine Libya’s growing international reputation,” Brown wrote.

Al-Megrahi was convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The explosion of a bomb hidden in the cargo hold killed all 259 people on the plane and 11 on the ground in Britain’s worst terrorist attack.

Al-Megrahi has maintained his innocence even as he dropped his appeal so that he could be released from prison.

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