Britain faces fresh pressure over Libya

THE British Government came under fresh pressure to reveal details of its dealings with Libya yesterday after claims by the son of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi over the Lockerbie bomber.

Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi claimed a prisoner transfer deal with Britain had targeted Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi and was linked to talks on trade and oil.

He said the “deal in the desert” specifically targeted the bomber but his name was never mentioned, and the prisoner transfer deal was signed at the same time as an oil deal.

But, in an interview with The Herald newspaper, he denied the business talks had anything to do with the eventual release last week of Megrahi on compassionate grounds.

His comments have triggered Tory demands for the Government to disclose details of its dealings with Libya.

Shadow Scotland Office minister Ben Wallace said: “If the Westminster government had no involvement in the decision to release Megrahi then Gordon Brown and Lord Mandelson should have no objection to releasing details of their dealings with Libya.

“The Government needs to prove that trade negotiations were kept completely separate from the release of the Lockerbie bomber.”

Praise by Gaddafi’s son for Scotland’s Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, who took the decision to free Megrahi, was seized on by the Labour party in Scotland.

Saif Gaddafi called MacAskill “a great man”, but the Scottish Labour party said: “The SNP’s biggest naivety is that they freed this man on a licence that allowed him to return a hero.

“But the fact that such lavish praise is poured on Kenny MacAskill exposes his diplomatic naivety and will now embarrass him further.”

A Populus poll for The Times suggested the public were sceptical about the reasons for Megrahi’s release, with 27% of those questioned agreeing with the decision to return him to Libya. Almost half, 45%, believed it had more to do with oil than Megrahi’s terminal illness while 24% disagreed.

In his interview with the Herald, Saif Gaddafi said: “For the last seven to eight years we have tried many times in the past to sign the PTA (prisoner transfer agreement) without mentioning Megrahi, but it was obvious we were targeting Megrahi and the PTA was on the table all the time.

“It was part of the bargaining deal with Britain. When Blair came here we signed the agreement. We didn’t mention Megrahi.

“We signed an oil deal at the same time. The commerce and politics and deals were all with the PTA.”

But he said that attempts to have Megrahi sent home under the prisoner transfer agreement were ultimately unsuccessful as this application was turned down by MacAskill.