THE FIRST official visit by the British prime minister David Cameron to the White House has been dominated by the British government’s release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbasset al-Megrahi in 2009, and BP’s role in lobbying for Megrahi’s return to Libya.
At a press conference with President Barack Obama, Mr Cameron repeatedly stated that although he opposed the decision taken by Scottish authorities in August 2009, it was important not to confuse it with the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
He seemed to defend BP by stressing that: “the decision to release Megrahi was a decision made by the Scottish government. I haven’t seen anything to indicate the Scottish government were swayed by BP.”
Following Megrahi’s release, BP won oil deals with Libya which BP officials have said could be worth $20 billion.
“BP’s position favouring a prisoner transfer agreement between the UK and Libya is a matter of public record,” secretary of state, Hillary Clinton said in a written response to US senators who have questioned the role of the former British Petroleum in the release.
The revelation, coming on the heels of the Gulf oil spill, has fanned anger against BP here in the US. The majority of the 270 people killed in the 1988 bombing over Lockerbie were Americans.
The Scottish justice minister Kenny MacAskill decided to send Megrahi back to Libya on grounds of compassion because he was expected to die within three months of prostate cancer.
Nearly a year later, Megrahi is still alive. “He should have died in jail,” Mr Cameron told National Public Radio yesterday. “Let’s be clear over who released Megrahi. It was not a decision of BP – it was a decision of Scottish ministers.”
Mrs Clinton and four Democratic senators have asked Britain to review the decision to free Megrahi.
Mr Cameron reversed his earlier refusal to meet with the senators and was due to see them late yesterday.
“We plan to ask (Mr Cameron) to have the UK do a complete investigation and bring al-Megrahi back to justice,” senator Charles Schumer of New York said.
But there was no mention of bringing Megrahi “back to justice” at the White House – only questions about a possible British government inquiry, in addition to the one launched by US senators. “I don’t need an inquiry to tell me it was a bad decision,” Mr Cameron said.
President Obama said that, “all of us here in the US were surprised, disappointed and angry about the release of the Lockerbie bomber,” but it was important to understand that, “we have a British prime minister who shares our anger, who also objects to how it played out.” He emphasised the “extraordinarily close ties” between their countries in fighting terrorism.
Mr Obama spoke of the “truly special relationship” between the US and Britain, and of the “sacrifices of our brave men and women who have served together, died togehter and in many cases been buried together.” He said that he and David Cameron, “have had a brilliant start as partners who see eye to eye on every problem”.
In particular, the leaders agreed that Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan must not be a haven for al-Qaeda. Both men praised the successful holding of an international donors’ conference in Kabul yesterday.
The Kabul conference agreed that the Afghan government would take control of security by 2014, when most international forces should withdraw. Mr Cameron wants to pull British troops out before the next election, in 2015.
But public opinion may not wait that long. In a Bloomberg poll last week, nearly 6 in 10 US respondents said Afghanistan was a lost cause. In a British poll last month, 25 per cent said all troops should be withdrawn immediately.
Mr Cameron said that during the three hours they spent together, he and Mr Obama reaffirmed their commitment to the overall strategy in Afghanistan. He said both countries wanted a peaceful and secure Middle East and for Iran to give up its pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
He said: “We desperately need a two-state solution,” for Israelis and Palestinians.
In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Mr Cameron wrote that he was “hard-headed and realistic about US-UK relations.
“I understand that we are the junior partner,” he said.