Who was responsible for the Lockerbie terrorist attack?

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi was found guilty of the atrocity but suspiciously released early. Meanwhile the finger of suspicion has often been pointed at Syria, The Australian  has resurrected this story with its report that:

'ALLEGATIONS that police plotted to mislead the original inquiry into the Lockerbie bombing, resulting in a wrongful conviction, have been passed to official investigators.

The file being considered by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission claims that evidence gathered at the scene of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103, which killed 270 people, was lost or destroyed.

False evidence, it is alleged, was then provided to incriminate Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Libyan agent convicted of the atrocity at a trial in The Netherlands in 2001.

According to the file, the police investigation of Megrahi was "reverse-engineered" with evidence provided to match the thesis that he was guilty.
...
The surrender of suspects by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was a key element in British Prime Minister Tony Blair's dealings with Tripoli. This led to the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Libya in 1999, after a 15-year hiatus.

The commission's report is expected to include allegations by Megrahi's defence team that crucial statements made to police by Tony Gauci, a Maltese shopkeeper who sold the Lockerbie bomber clothing which was later found wrapped around the bomb, were withheld by the prosecution.

Mr Gauci's statements are believed to have implicated Mohammed Abo Talb, a terrorist with links to the Iranian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command, one of the early suspects for the Lockerbie bombing.

The commission is also said to be in possession of a press statement, prepared by Dumfries and Galloway police in 1990, which named members of the PFLP-GC as its chief suspects but which was never released.
Talb is serving life in Sweden for bombing an airport in Denmark, but was a free man operating in Europe in 1988.
...
It adds weight to claims that it was "politically unacceptable" to pursue the PFLP-GC when the 1991 Gulf War made it necessary to maintain good relations with Iran and Syria.'

I remember Private Eye producing a special investigation report that fingered the true culprits of the Lockerbie atrocity, maybe I should dig that out... The involvement of Tony Blair and maybe Peter Mandelson in rehabilitating Libya and creating trade links with that country is something that needs investigation; to my mind something smells...

Am I right to be excited by the apparent defection of Moussa Koussa?

In theory the defection of Gaddafi's Foreign Minister and former spy chief Moussa Koussa should be good news as it will weaken Colonel Gaddafi's regime that bit more and also maybe bring out some facts that otherwise may remain hidden. Facts such as who was it in the Libyan embassy that shot and murdered WPC Yvonne Fletcher, what was the real level of involvement of Libya in the Lockerbie bombing and what deals were done (formally or informally, directly or indirectly) with Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and other Labour figures in order to secure the release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Mohmed Ali al-Megrahi?

What worries me is two fold; first that Moussa Koussa will not necessarily tell the truth about any of the above events as he is looking to save his skin and maybe advance his career (to become the interim President of Libya?) and so will only reveal what he thinks he has to and secondly this Conservative government lacks the killer instinct (that Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's government's had) to push for all Moussa Koussa knows about the invoilvement of the last Labour government in the release of al-Megrahi etc. In a similar situation the last Labvour government would have tried to get as much dirt as possible on the Conservatives, David Cameron and his team seem to not want to play as dirty and just as in the last election they will suffer for it.

So whilst Moussa Koussa's defection looks like good news, I have my doubts as to what will result from it will be as  advantageous to the truth coming out as people are hoping.


PS: It seems that I have misspelled 'involvement' in the above, however the misspelling seems somehow appropriate for the matter being discussed, so I have left it uncorrected.

Incredible revelations in The Mail but on the BBC... nothing

The Mail is splashing a news story that:

'Scottish Ministers offered to free Lockerbie bomber in secret deal to end 'slop bucket' payments to prisoners'

Read the whole story it's fascinating and at great variance from the assurances given to the British public by various ministers since al-Megrahi was released.

What is even more interesting is that I can find no mention of this story on the BBC news website. Somehow I think that if the BBC caught wind of a news story that would show Conservative ministers had mislead the public the BBC would be covering the story in depth.

Labour minister accused of advising Libya on how to get al-Megrahi released

The Telegraph reports the unsurprising news that:

'WikiLeaks: Britain secretly advised Libya how to secure release of Lockerbie bomber

Ministers secretly advised Muammar Gaddafi’s Libyan regime how to secure the successful early release of the Lockerbie bomber, documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph have disclosed.

A Foreign Office minister sent Libyan officials detailed legal advice on how to use Abdelbaset al-Megrahi’s cancer diagnosis to ensure he was released from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds.

The Duke of York is also said to have played a behind-the-scenes role in encouraging the terrorist’s release.

The Libyans closely followed the advice which led to the controversial release of Megrahi – who was convicted of the murder of 270 passengers on Pan Am Flight 103 – within months of the Foreign Office’s secret intervention.

The disclosure seriously undermines British Government claims that is was not complicit in the release of al-Megrahi, and that the decision to free the convicted terrorist was taken by the Scottish Executive alone.

It will also lead to renewed pressure from senior American politicians on David Cameron to release all internal documents detailing Britain’s role in the scandal. Last summer, the Prime Minister pledged to release the relevant information – but the publication has yet to occur sparking fears that a cover-up may have been ordered.

...

According to American officials, Tony Blair was suspected of securing trade deals after agreeing to include Megrahi in the agreement.

...

It can now be disclosed that within a week of the diagnosis, Bill Rammell, a junior Foreign Office minister, had written to his Libyan counterpart advising him on how this could be used as the grounds of securing al-Megrahi’s compassionate release from prison.

Rob Dixon, a senior Foreign Office official, met with the American Ambassador to brief him on the letter. An official American memo on the meeting states: “FCO Minister for the Middle East Bill Rammell sent Libyan Deputy FM Abdulati al-Obeidi a letter, which was cleared both by HMG and by the Scottish Executive, on October 17 outlining the procedure for obtaining compassionate release.

“It cites Section 3 of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act of 1993 as the basis for release of prisoners, on license, on compassionate grounds. Although the Scottish Crown informed the families of the Pan Am 103 victims in an email October 21 that the time frame for compassionate release is normally three months from time of death, Dixon stressed to us that the three month time frame is not codified in the law.”

Mr Dixon went on to disclose to the Americans that Jack Straw, the then Justice Secretary, had also spoken to Alex Salmond, the Scottish First Minister about the case which had led Government officials to believe that the terrorist would be released.

The minute of the meeting with the Americans records: “Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond told Jack Straw that he will make the final decision in this case. Salmond told Straw that he would make the decision based on humanitarian grounds, not foreign policy grounds; Dixon told us HMG has interpreted this to mean that Salmond is inclined to grant the request.”

...

After Megrahi was released in August 2009, another American document records Gaddafi’s comments – which suggest that Prince Andrew, the UK’s trade envoy, may have played a role.

The document records: “He [Gaddafi] went on to thank his 'friend Brown’, the British Prime Minister, his government, Queen Elizabeth, and Prince Andrew, who 'against all odds encouraged this brave decision’. [Gaddafi] noted that the UK efforts would positively affect 'exchange’ between the two countries.

When al-Megrahi was finally released, it also emerged that Gordon Brown instructed the British ambassador to hand deliver a note to Gaddafi. The letter was ostensibly to ask the Libyan leader not to lionise the released terrorist but the delivery of the letter also presented British officials with the opportunity for a rare private meeting with Gaddafi. The leader usually only sees very senior foreign politicians and dignitaries. '

So do we have a situation here where at least one Labour minister and the then Labour Prime Minister were involved in engineering the release of a convicted mass-murderer in return for trade talks?

Let us remember that David Miliband when Labour's Foreign Secretary stated that there had been “no double dealing”. Let us also remember that Peter Mandelson said that the claims that trade concerns had been involved in the release of al-Megrahi were "not only wrong; it's completely implausible and actually quite offensive".

I wonder what a fully independent investigation into the release of al-Megrahi would uncover; not that we will find out any time soon. Mind you a full investigation into the Lockerbie bombing itself would likely find that al-Megrahi took the rap for others, see that excellent Private Eye booklet.

The least surprising news of the year - Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi is not about to die

The Telegraph reports that:

'The Lockerbie bomber could survive for 10 years or longer, according to a cancer specialist who last year said he would be dead within three months of his release.

Professor Karol Sikora, who assessed Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi for the Libyan authorities almost a year ago, told The Sunday Times it was "embarrassing" the bomber had outlived his three-month prognosis.

...

In Scotland, prisoners are eligible for release on compassionate grounds if they have fewer than three months to live.

A report in the Sunday Times said Libyan authorities, keen to secure Megrahi’s release, asked several experts to put a three-month estimate on the bomber’s life but Professor Sikora was the only one to agree.

Professor Sikora, the dean of medicine at Buckingham University and medical director of CancerPartnersUK in London, was paid for his medical assessment of Megrahi at Greenock prison on July last year.

He told the newspaper: “There was always a chance he could live for 10 years, 20 years ... But it's very unusual.

"It was clear that three months was what they were aiming for. Three months was the critical point.

"On the balance of probabilities, I felt I could sort of justify [that]."

He denied he came any under pressure, but admitted: "It is embarrassing that he's gone on for so long."

"There was a 50 per cent chance that he would die in three months, but there was also a 50 per cent chance that he would live longer." '

Oh what a surprise, al-Megrahi survived more than three months and will live a good while yet.

Sunday morning catchup

A few pieces from the news that need covering but I have not got the time to do full justice to:

1. The Times reports that:

"Public sector workers earn 7% more on average than their peers in the private sector — a pay gulf that has more than doubled since the recession began.

Official figures show that staff employed by the state are enjoying bigger pay rises, working fewer hours and receiving pensions worth up to three times as much as those in the private sector.

Civil servants, National Health Service staff, council officials and other public sector workers have enjoyed a “golden age” under Labour, according to an investigation by The Sunday Times.

The analysis was validated by Straight Statistics, a group that campaigns for the accurate reporting of official data.

Since Labour came to power in 1997, the number of public sector workers has increased by 914,000 to more than 6m, just over a fifth of the workforce.

Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that average annual earnings of public sector workers rose to £22,405 last year — compared with £20,988 paid to the average private sector worker. "

Still think the Conservatives can the general election with the size of Labour party vote that the Labour government have created?


2. The Mail reports that:

"Harriet Harman will become the public face of Labour's general election campaign as the party looks to shore up its core support.

The deputy leader will host daily televised media briefings and tour television studios.

Senior strategists believe that Miss Harman will strengthen Labour's appeal to women and middle England voters who are turned off by Gordon Brown."

Who are these senior strategists? DO they really believe that Harriet Harman appeals to middle England voters? Repels more like.


3. The Telegraph reports that:

"hundreds of UK companies selling anything from hair loss treatments to electronics have mysteriously registered to buy and sell carbon permits in the Scandinavian nation (Denmark) – mostly in the last 18 months.

...

While many are bound to be genuine individual private traders playing the carbon markets, investigators are examining the possibility that some of these unknown UK-based companies have used the system to commit "carousel" fraud linked to VAT. "

Anyone surprised?


4. THe Telegraph reports that:

"Relatives of those who died in the Lockerbie bombing are launching a new legal bid to force the Government to hold a public inquiry.

UK Families Flight 103, the relatives' campaign group, will use human rights laws in a bid to uncover the truth about the terrorist attack, which claimed 270 lives in December 1988.

The group has hired Gareth Peirce, the prominent human rights solicitor better known for her work representing terror suspects, to devise a legal strategy to secure the inquiry for which families have long campaigned.

...

The development comes after Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, rejected the group's latest demands for an independent review of the bombing. He informed them of his decision in a letter, dated Christmas Eve, which was received by the relatives last week.

In the letter, Mr Brown said: "All of the matters which you have raised in support of the case for an inquiry are points which were raised at the original trial or the appeal in Scotland, and I do not see that it would be in the public interest to air them again at an inquiry.""

Gordon Brown will not allow a public enquiry because he has probably been informed who the real perpetrators were - Syria and why the blame was laid on a Libyan. Hopefully an incoming Conservative would be more willing to let the truth emerge.


5. The Telegraph report that:

"A Somali axeman who tried to murder the Danish cartoon artist responsible for controversial drawings of the Prophet Mohammed had links to al-Qaeda, police said. "

I am so surprised...


6. Times of India reports that:

"In a serious security lapse that revived concerns about counter-terrorism security measures, a stowaway on an Air India flight hid in the plane's toilet to fly to India. The lapse occurred on a special Haj flight operated by AI on the Medina-Jaipur sector on Friday, with 273 passengers on board"

I can't say that I am surprised, I have flown on internal Indian airlines and they are not hugely organised flights.


7. The Tap is running a series of worrying articles on the true level of the UK's debt. I challenge you to read these articles and not become profoundly depressed for the economic future of the UK.

Lockerbie

A small piece in Friday's Daily Telegraph caught my eye and it concerns something that has concerned me for some time now. It starts "The release of a mystery document that could cast doubt over the conviction of the Lockerbie bomber is being blocked by the Government."

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi is the Libyan convicted of the awful bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie. Take a look around the web and see if you can find out who really did it, I'll give you a clue - look towards Syria.