Scottish officials in ‘uncharted’ territory as they vie to reach Lockerbie bomber in Tripoli

THE leader of the authority charged with keeping track of the Lockerbie bomber said his officials are in “uncharted” territory and do not know what to do if contact is lost.

Efforts are being stepped up to reach Abdelbaset al-Megrahi in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, where fighting is raging between rebels and those defending the Gaddafi regime.

Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, was released from Greenock jail in Scotland on compassionate grounds in August 2009 but has outlived his three-month prognosis.

The former Libyan intelligence agent is supposed to keep in contact with officials at East Renfrewshire Council, the area in which his family had a home during his imprisonment.

Any infringement of the condition could, on paper, lead to Megrahi being returned to jail.

Council leader Jim Fletcher said his officers have spoken to him recently and are satisfied he is alive and staying at his home address.

But he added: “We’re trying to track him down at the moment. Our duty is to make sure he’s in Libya. We’re monitoring his whereabouts.

“We are in uncharted waters. If we can’t track him, I don’t know what we would do. We’d need to take advice from the Scottish Government.”

Mr Fletcher said the situation has changed as the conflict in Libya intensifies in the capital.

He said the authority is trying to reach Megrahi to make sure he is safe, adding: “If we can’t do that, it is uncharted territory.

“The goalposts have moved. We would need guidance from the government — it was their decision to release him.”

Calls have already been made to bring the convicted killer back to prison in Scotland.

Conservative MP Robert Halfon, whose family was driven out of Libya after Gaddafi took power, said: “We should make every effort to bring him back so he can spend the rest of his time in prison where he belongs. Or he should spend the rest of his life in a Libyan jail, or be extradited to the US.”

According to the terms of Megrahi’s release, he must keep East Renfrewshire Council regularly updated about his medical condition and location, and “shall be of good behaviour and keep the peace’.

His release licence concludes: “Failure to comply with these conditions may result in the revocation of your licence and your recall to custody.”

Last month Megrahi attended a pro-government rally, apparently offering support to Libyan authorities who are guilty of “acts of violence and intimidation” according to Nato resolution 1973.

East Renfrewshire Council’s criminal justice service is responsible for deciding whether Megrahi has breached the terms of his licence.

If a breach has occurred they would refer it on to the Scottish Government’s justice department, headed by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, and the Parole Board for Scotland.

The spokesman said: “Up to this point, there has been no breach of his release licence conditions.”

However, Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray said the Scottish Government should decide whether Megrahi has complied with the terms of his licence, rather than the Labour-led East Renfrewshire Council.

He said: “They have to take the decision over whether the terms of that release have been breached.

“The practicalities of bringing Megrahi back if the conditions have been breached seem to be extremely difficult, and the fact of the matter is, of course, that if the right decision had been taken, and the Lockerbie bomber had not been released, we wouldn’t be facing this situation now.”

He added: “I don’t accept that they can take a decision like this and wash their hands of it.

“He was released on the terms of a ministerial decision, and those conditions were set at the time.

“Their obligation is to make sure that the terms of that release have been continued.”