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Leaders in Britain have been facing a storm of controversy after the one man convicted of the Lockerbie plane bombing was released from prison. Scottish officials say that he was sent home to Libya on compassionate grounds because he's dying of cancer. But there are widespread charges that the release was motivated by Britain's economic relationship with Libya.
Today, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown emphatically denied those charges, as NPR's Rob Gifford reports.
ROB GIFFORD: The question of who authorized the release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi and why simply won't go away. The central government in Westminster released stacks of documents last night to try to quell speculation that it had push for Megrahi's release. The (unintelligible) Scottish government in Edinburgh also released documents and correspondence on the issue. Although there seems to be no smoking gun in the papers, they do show that the central government in Westminster did not want Megrahi to die in a Scottish jail. But Gordon Brown said it didn't matter what Westminster thought, the decision was Edinburgh's.
Prime Minister GORDON BROWN (Great Britain): I made it clear for - that for us, there was never a linkage between any other issue and the Scottish government's own decision about Megrahi's future. 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.
GIFFORD: Opposition leaders have called that argument disingenuous. The anger in the United States at the release has not been matched in Britain, where many believe that Megrahi was not even guilty of bombing Pan Am Flight 103. But many here do feel that Megrahi was simply a bargaining chip used to facilitate Britain's growing economic interest in Libya from oil exploration to financial services.
Leader of the opposition, Liberal Democrat Party, Nick Clegg was just one of many politicians lining up to criticize both Gordon Brown and the First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond.
Mr. NICK CLEGG (Liberal Democrat Party): When you look at all these letters and you hear the excuses and counter-excuses from ministers, I think two things emerge. Firstly, that Gordon Brown and his ministers wanted Megrahi released because they knew that British commercial interests were at stake in Libya. And that secondly, Alex Salmond's Scottish government then came along with breathtaking naivety and did Gordon Brown's spade work for him.
GIFFORD: This afternoon, members of the Scottish parliament held a symbolic vote on the Scottish government's handling of the issue. Opponents could not rally enough votes to pass motion of no confidence, but a majority of legislatures did condemn Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill's decision to release Megrahi. Annabel Goldie is leader of the Conservative Party in the Scottish parliament.
Mr. ANNABEL GOLDIE (Conservative Party): What I think is very clear must be beyond doubt, the Scottish Parliament today has sent a clear message to the world. Alex Salmond's decision to release the Lockerbie bomber was not in the Scottish Parliament's name. It was not in Scotland's name and everybody needs to understand that fact.
GIFFORD: Conservatives say they want an enquiry into Megrahi's release. Meanwhile, reports from Tripoli say Megrahi was moved to the intensive care unit today. He has long maintained his innocence of the Lockerbie bombing.
Rob Gifford, NPR News, London.
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