Lockerbie documents: Labour 'did all it could' to secure bomber's release (BP lobbied UK government)

The Telegraph ^ | 02.07.11 | Simon Johnson

[fight_truth_decay]

The former Labour Government did "all it could" to help Libya secure the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Britain's most senior civil servant said today.

David Cameron will this afternoon publish a dossier of 150 pages of letters, memos and minutes related to the case after he promised Barack Obama, the US President, to review all the paperwork and see what could be made public.

In an accompanying report, Sir Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, concludes: "Policy was ... progressively developed that Her Majesty's Government should do all it could ... to facilitate an appeal by the Libyans to the Scottish government for Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi's release under the Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) or for release on compassionate grounds.

"Such an approach was understood across all relevant departments." In a separate statement to coincide with the release of its down batch of Lockerbie documents, the Scottish executive claimed that the UK Government changed its position on the release of the Lockerbie bomber due to "commercial considerations, including lobbying by BP".

[fight_truth_decay]

Foreign Office minister, secretly advised Libya how to secure Megrahi's release on compassionate grounds.

[Diogenesis]

The terrorist was freed for two reasons.

FIRST, TERRORISTS WOULD BE REWARDED

SECOND, MORE TERRORISTS WOULD BE CREATED

[Waco]

Lbor=democRAT,,,feel safer now???

[surroundedbyblue]

In other news....water is wet.

Seriously, anyone surprised by this? I mean, it still makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit but it’s not really a shock.

[mewzilla]

This is old news.

But it makes me wonder Assange is sitting on, and how much of that relates to the Obama admin's participation in the deal.

[mewzilla]

....and see what could be made public.

Gee, is that a threat....?

[mewzilla]

Check this out....

Report: BP did not pressure Scottish government to release Lockerbie bomber

Wow.

[mewzilla]

From last summer....

Barack Obama must also answer questions over the Lockerbie bomber's release

[UCFRoadWarrior]

Cameron still needs to lift the ban on Michael Savage. Releasing documents does not remove the UK from being a state-sponsor of terrorism.

[fight_truth_decay]

TimeLine

• "The group"[BP] was awarded onshore and offshore areas equivalent to the size of Belgium and Kuwait in May 2007 as a "sweetener" to speed progress on a prisoner deal at the time.

  The oil and gas potential is said to be considerable but until now there has been little recognition of how significantly the Libyan deal could benefit BP...Tony Blair [would] personally attended the signing ceremony, shortly before Britain signed a wide-ranging memorandum of understanding with Libya on extradition, legal assistance and established the framework for the release of the Lockerbie bomber....Lord Browne, former BP chief executive, frequent visitor to No 10, Lord Simon, former BP managing director, was briefly a minister in the Blair administration and Anji Hunter, one of Mr Blair's closest aides, joined BP after leaving Downing Street.

• Libya-online: BP Finally Signs Libya Deal After UK Prisoner Agreement. 2008-02-03

• Wikileaks:
• U.S. Opens Trade Office in Libya: on October 5, 2008, the American Commercial Service Office was opened in Tripoli to take part in promotion of the economic cooperation among the different Libyan and American institutions. Libyan officials and businessmen from both countries attended the office's opening. The American Assistant Secretary of Commerce underlined the importance of this office to strengthen economic and commercial ties between both countries...American companies desire to execute projects in Great Jamahiriya.

  My Note: CIA World Fact Book reports: Libyan oil and gas licensing rounds continue to draw high international interest; the National Oil Corporation (NOC) set a goal of nearly doubling oil production to 3 million bbl/day by 2012. [In November 2009, the NOC had announced that that target may slip to as late as 2017].Natural gas - exports: 10.4 billion cu m (2008 est.)

• Wikileaks [oilandgaseuroasia.com, 10/21/2008]TNK-BP is ready to sell $1bn-$2bn to obtain the status of operator of Libya's Sarir project. The Russian-British oil producer is now in talks with Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) regarding the development of the Sarir field. In September, a delegation of TNK-BP top executives visited the country to hold cooperation talks. However, investment in the Libyan oil project, which may total between $1bn and $7bn, has yet to be approved by TNK-BP's new CEO.

• May 2009, SNP MSP for South of Scotland Christine Grahame refused to say whether Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi intends to abandon his appeal.

  Libyan authorities have applied for Megrahi to be moved to Libya under a prisoner transfer treaty between that country and the UK. But no decision on this can be made by Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill if there are outstanding legal proceedings.

  Ms Grahame, SNP MSP for South of Scotland, spent an hour with Megrahi at the prison where he is serving a life sentence.

  Emerging from the prison, Ms Grahame said [several times]: "I found it quite upsetting. The man is obviously very ill and he is desperate to see his family - absolutely desperate to see his family - so, whatever it takes, that's the priority."

  The appeal against the length of sentence imposed on Megrahi would also have to be dropped if the transfer agreement is to go ahead.

  Herald Scotland

• Aug 20, 2009 ... Convicted Lockerbie Bomber Released

• Jul 2010 BP said it pressed for a deal over the controversial prisoner transfer agreement (PTA) amid fears any delays to negotiations would damage its “commercial interests” and disrupt its £900 million offshore drilling operations in the region.... But it denied claims that it had been involved in negotiations

• July 27, 2010 Outgoing BP chief executive refuses to attend US Lockerbie hearing..said the company was already on "thin ice with the American people".... Senators pushing for Mr Hayward to appear, saying they wanted to question him over whether BP "advocated trading blood for oil".... The firm is also refusing to allow Sir Mark Allen- a former MI6 official who helped negotiate a valuable Libyan oil contract for BP with Colonel Gaddafi – to appear at the hearing.

  Updated: 8 Feb 2011

• Reportedly Gordon Brown’s government took “great effort not to communicate to the Scottish Government its underlying desire to see Megrahi released before he died” because “any attempts to pressurise or lobby the Scottish Government could be counter-productive to achieving this outcome”.

• Sir Gus suggests it was likely the Scottish Government was aware of this desire but that there “is no record that it was communicated or that UK interests played a part in Megrahi’s release by the Scottish Government on compassionate grounds

  Herald Scotland

• 5:39PM GMT 07 Feb 2011
  Messrs Brown and Co .. said at the time that the decision to free Megrahi had been a decision for the devolved administration in Edinburgh alone but Britain’s most senior civil servant said that the former Labour government did "all it could" to help Libya secure the release of the bomber"..."this policy was progressively developed to facilitate the Libyans in their appeal to the Scottish government to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds."

  Telegraph uk

[fight_truth_decay]

...now called Londonstan

Savage should not be banned, I agree—harmless.

Off note..drove through Lewiston Maine—small old mill city now home for Somali—Big Mosque in the middle of this old Maine city—it’s architecture sticks out like a sore thumb!! Lewistonstan