British prime minister Gordon Brown today rejected suggestions that his government put pressure on Scotland to release the Lockerbie bomber early in an attempt to improve Britain's trade links with Libya.
Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, terminally ill with prostate cancer, was flown home to Libya last month and has been moved to a hospital emergency room "in a bad way", a Libyan official said on condition of anonymity today
The Megrahi case angered Washington and many relatives of the victims of the attack, as well as triggering accusations that Britain had put pressure on the Scottish government to release him to help British companies win trade deals with the country that has Africa's biggest proven oil reserves.
Mr Brown said he had made it clear to Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy that it was up to the Scottish government to decide whether to free Megrahi. Scotland has its own judicial system.
"On our part, there was no conspiracy, no cover-up, no double-dealing, no deal on oil, no attempt to instruct Scottish ministers, no private assurances by me to Colonel Gadafy," Mr Brown said at an employment conference in Birmingham.
Megrahi is the only person to have been convicted over the killing of 270 people in the bombing of a Pan Am passenger plane over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988. Scotland freed him on compassionate grounds.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Britain had told Libya it did not want Megrahi to die in prison but denied putting pressure on the Scottish government. "We did not want him to die in prison. No, we weren't seeking his death in prison," Mr Miliband told BBC radio. "At every stage we said this is a matter for the Scottish government."
Documents released by the Scottish government showed Libyan officials had warned London the death of Megrahi in a Scottish prison would have "catastrophic effects for the relationship between Libya and Britain".
British firms have become heavily involved in exploring for hydrocarbons in Libya after UN sanctions were lifted in 2003 and political patronage remains important for doing business in the north African state.
Conservative leader David Cameron, who leads in the polls less than a year before a British election, said Megrahi should not have been freed. He accused the British government of a "catastrophic misjudgment" and said there should be an inquiry into the facts surrounding Megrahi's release.
"We are now in a shambolic situation where the government has upset one of our most important allies," Mr Cameron told BBC radio. "They stand accused of double-dealing, saying one thing to the Libyans and something else to the Americans."
Mr Brown has condemned the rapturous welcome given to Megrahi on his return to Tripoli, but has not said whether he agreed with the decision to free him.
Pictures of Megrahi's arrival were projected onto a giant screen in Tripoli yesterday during celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of Gaddafi's coup in 1969.
However, there were few further details on Megrahi's condition. A spokesman for Tripoli Medical Centre, where Megrahi has been for several days, said he was too ill to speak. "Because of the treatment he is receiving, his immune system is very weak and he cannot speak to anyone today," hospital spokesman Omar Senoussi said.
Reuters