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UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown - Source: Reuters -
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British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that his government had
put no pressure on Scotland to release the dying Lockerbie bomber
early 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.
His release angered Washington and many relatives of victims of the
attack, and triggered accusations that Britain had put pressure on
the Scottish government to release Megrahi to help British
companies win trade deals with the country that has Africa's
biggest proven oil reserves.
Brown said he had made it clear to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
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 Gaddafi," he said
at an employment conference in Birmingham, central England.
Megrahi, 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, was serving a life
sentence.
Scotland freed him on compassionate grounds.
The Scottish government came under fire over its decision to allow
Megrahi to return to Libya, losing a vote in the Scottish
parliament by 73 votes to 50.
But the defeat will not bring down the government.
Anniversary celebrations
British 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," 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 since UN sanctions were lifted in 2003 and
political patronage remains important for doing business in the
North African state.
A US lawyer representing victims' families said he would file a
lawsuit under the US Freedom of Information Act to try to force the
US government to release documents on any agreements or discussions
with Britain about the Lockerbie case.
"I would call upon both governments to start releasing their
substantive investigative files to give evidence as to exactly what
role Megrahi played and anyone else involved with the bombing,"
lawyer Mark Zaid told BBC News.
Opposition 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 misjudgement
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," Cameron told BBC radio.
"They stand accused of double-dealing, saying one thing to the
Libyans and something else to the Americans."
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 on Tuesday during celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary
of Gaddafi's coup in 1969.
There were few further details on Megrahi's condition on
Wednesday.
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.
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