Brits, Scots may pay price for craven decision on release of mass murderer

Guardian:

Britain was last night facing growing American criticism over the release of the Lockerbie bomber when the most senior US military officer said he was "appalled" by the decision.

In a blow to Gordon Brown's attempts to distance himself from the decision by the Scottish justice secretary, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff dismissed British claims that the bomber had been released solely on compassionate grounds. Admiral Mike Mullen told CNN that the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was "obviously a political decision. I was appalled by the decision."

His remarks were echoed by John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the UN under George Bush. He said: "As someone whose grandparents were Scottish, I'm appalled by the decision of the Scottish government. But I'm more appalled by the decision of the British government apparently to see commercial advantage for the UK in having this mass murderer go free. We wait to hear from prime minister Brown what he thinks."

The interventions by two senior US figures come as the Scottish justice minister who took the decision to free Megrahi on compassionate grounds faces fresh pressure today when the Scottish parliament is recalled in emergency session.

But the pressure is growing on Brown to make a public pronouncement on how much his ministers were involved behind the scenes. The central defence of British ministers – that Megrahi's release was entirely a matter for the Scottish justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill – was called into question yesterday when it emerged that the Foreign Office had intervened.

In a letter to MacAskill, the Foreign Office minister Ivan Lewis said that Britain saw no legal impediment to acceding to a Libyan request to return Megrahi under the terms of an Anglo-Libyan prisoner transfer agreement.

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The Times reports that the fallout from the decision could topple the Scots government.

Scotland’s government faces a fight for its survival as the furore over its decision to free the Lockerbie bomber escalated last night.

Opposition parties north of the Border are preparing to hold a confidence vote over the decision by Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary, to free Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi. Alex Salmond, the First Minister, has confirmed that he would resign if the Holyrood vote went against him.

The development comes after a weekend of fierce criticism from the United States of the decision on the ground of compassion to return al-Megrahi to Libya, where he was fêted as a hero on his return.

Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Pentagon’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he was appalled by the freeing of al-Megrahi, echoing the earlier attack by Robert Mueller, the FBI Director, who accused Scotland of “making a mockery of the rule of law” and giving “comfort to terrorists around the world”. Threats by Americans to boycott Scottish goods and services on the back of the al-Megrahi decision are being taken seriously by the British Government.

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Not to mention all the criticism from PrairiePundit. Seriously, the situation may become serious for both the Scots and the UK as more is revealed about a craven decision to have "compassion" for one of the more venal characters in recent history. The Daily Mail suggest there is concern about a US boycott of Scot and British goods. The "special relationship" is looking real special about now.