What is the point of an inquiry over Lockerbie?
| 11:10 UK time, Friday, 23 July 2010
"It is in my experience highly unusual for the legislature of one sovereign state to conduct an inquiry into decisions of another sovereign state."
Those are the words of Jack Straw, former UK foreign secretary, as he considers whether to attend a US Senate hearing into the circumstances surrounding the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi.
What exactly the Senate is investigating is itself up for debate - but clearly one of the key factors is whether lobbying from BP played any part in the release.
But what exactly is the point of all this?
Here's the take of :
Since BP did not have the power to free al-Megrahi, are you not actually investigating corruption within the British government, and do you consider that to be either a proper or a constructive thing to do? We've already made our point. The British government admits that al-Megrahi's release was wrong. The act, however scandalous, cannot now be undone. What good can come of chastising a foreign government, which is still the best ally we have, and which your party has already done more than enough to alienate over the past two years?
At the same time as Straw's invitation was announced, it was also confirmed Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and the Scottish Prison Service's medical chief Dr Andrew Fraser have been invited, but declined.
MacAskill was the man who ultimately sanctioned al-Megrahi's release. But Scotland's government has said there was "unequivocally" no connection between the release of al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds and BP's oil contracts - and so turned the invitation down.
says it "rightly" did so:
"MacAskill acted with statesmanship and spiritual largeness. He released Ali Al Megrahi on compassionate grounds, in line with Scots law, to return to Libya to be with his family for what time he has left."
However, The says the decision is "understandable but disappointing":
"Staying at home only makes their decision look even more suspicious though speaking to the Senate has the potential to make matters even worse."
Andwarns that:
Even if the Scottish executive is vindicated by documents that are released, and Mr Megrahi's release really was triggered by his cancer diagnosis, there could be more than enough material about ties between Libya, BP and the last British government to make the "special relationship" a bit less special, in American eyes.
And some are questioning America's right to call people from the UK at all.
Here's putting it rather bluntly on Twitter:
Increasingly the US is poking its nose into every bodies business. Tell them to do one
What do you think? Does America have the right to call UK ministers? Are Scotland's ministers right to refuse? And what good can the inquiry do - if any?
