I am shocked, I never saw this coming!

With the health warning that this is sourced from The Express, I read that:

"THE cancer-stricken Lockerbie bomber, far from being close to death, is “getting better by the day”, his family said yesterday.

Relatives claim the health of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, 57, has shown marked signs of improvement and they now hope he could even make a full recovery.

...

The Sunday Express can reveal that Megrahi’s elderly father, Ali, has told Arab newspapers that he believes Scottish ministers and western media have painted a “darker picture” than necessary of his son’s condition and claims he is regaining his strength.

He said: “I see that he is getting better day after day, and is much better than the first day that he returned to his homeland. I think that the sick are not just cured by medicine but also by having a high morale and a sense of freedom and these were not available to Abdulbaset in prison.

“He was diagnosed with cancer less than a year ago.

“A relative was diagnosed with a similar disease and he was treated and recovered completely. We hope that Abdelbaset recovers his health as well.”"

Al-Megrahi getting better after his release on compassionate grounds, who would have thought it? I presume that if he does recover, that he will be brought back to Scotland to serve the balance of his sentence; maybe not.


Amongst other news that does not surprise me in this case is:

"The British government decided it was “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom” to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, eligible for return to Libya, leaked ministerial letters reveal.

Gordon Brown’s government made the decision after discussions between Libya and BP over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards.

The letters were sent two years ago by Jack Straw, the justice secretary, to Kenny MacAskill, his counterpart in Scotland, who has been widely criticised for taking the formal decision to permit Megrahi’s release.

The correspondence makes it plain that the key decision to include Megrahi in a deal with Libya to allow prisoners to return home was, in fact, taken in London for British national interests. "

You might also want to read the latest news in The Sunday Telegraph, not online, regarding Peter Mandelson and Libya; fascinating.