Lockerbie: Bored yet?

By David Higgerson on Sep 4, 09 07:44 AM

And so it continues. What feels like an eternity since Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was released from jail is actually nearer a fortnight.

Despite the hours of TV coverage, and acres of newsprint which has been devoted to the release of the only man convicted for the bombing of the transatlantic jet above Lockerbie (and who many, including relatives of some of the victims believe is innocent) there doesn't appear to be anything which suggests either the UK or Scottish government have done anything wrong.

So what if Jack Straw was lobbied by BP on the matter? Just because BP want to get into the oil fields of Libya doesn't mean Mr Straw can suddenly over-ride Scottish devolution to grant the oil giant what it wants.

So what if Gordon Brown didn't want the bomber to die in jail? Again, it doesn't mean he could engineer his release.

So what if he wrote to Libya asking for the possible bomber's return to be low-key if he was released? It still doesn't mean he could engineer the release - but he probably alerted Libya to the political waves it could cause if it did have a celebration.

So what if Scotland sought the advice of the British government before the release? As the letters clearly show, the Government in Westminster certainly didn't seek to make the decision for them. Why would they? This current government is keen to avoid any contentious decision, so why take on one which it can side-step?

Despite all the accusations and "revelations" several key facts remain unchallenged:

The Scottish justice system has not done anything wrong in releasing a man they felt deserved it on compassionate grounds.

The British Government has no control over that system - and those who seek to link Westminster to the scandal haven't got to grips with devolution.

Even if Gordon Brown or Jack Straw had tried to lean on the the Scottish SNP government, what do you think the reaction would have been? They aren't suddenly going to take orders from London, and would probably have screamed from the rooftops if they were asked to. And rightly so.

It's time to move on. If there is a scandal in here, it'll take many more months to uncover. In the meantime, perhaps David Cameron and Nick Clegg should stop criticising, and stop asking for an inquiry, and instead set out quite what they'd have done differently.