Downing Street Says » Lockerbie

Asked if the Government explicitly said to the Scottish or Libyan Governments that we did not want al-Megrahi to return to Libya under any conditions or was it the case that the Government did not express a view either way, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) said that the Government’s position was completely consistent on this subject; this had always been a decision for the Scottish Executive alone, and the UK was not involved. The important point was that under the devolved structure this had been a quasi-judicial decision made by the Scottish Government.

Asked whose initiative it was to print correspondence relating to al-Megrahi, the PMS said that the correspondence was being released in consultation with the Scottish Executive. All the relevant correspondence relating to the release of al-Megrahi would be released this afternoon on the websites of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Foreign Office (FCO). This was about transparency; we wanted to be clear that we were delivering the relevant correspondence, which hopefully would address some of the issues that had been raised.

Asked how confident the Prime Minister was that the correspondence would persuade people that a deal had not been struck relating to al-Megrahi’s release, the PMS said that the Prime Minister had given an interview in the Financial Times where he explained that he had made it clear to Colonel Gaddafi in their recent meeting that this was not in any way a decision that he could influence. The Prime Minister was keen to be transparent in this respect, which was why correspondence between the UK Government and the Scottish Executive would be released today.

Put that the UK Government had been involved in the decision regarding Megrahi’s Prison Transfer Agreement (PTA), the PMS said that there were two things to point out; firstly, a decision had been made by the Scottish Executive about al-Megrahi’s release and secondly, Jack Straw had been making clear that negotiations over the PTA were part of a wider agreement for the normalisation of relations with Libya as part of bringing them into the international community. Any normalisation process with any country could include PTAs; they were not unique to the relationship with Libya. As Jack Straw had said, PTAs were an important part of developing international diplomatic relations.

Put that the al-Megrahi was a very specific case, the PMS said that the important point was that the PTA was completely separate from the decision made by the Scottish Executive.

Put that Jack Straw had admitted at the weekend that the Government changed its mind about al-Megrahi in regard to the PTA and asked if the Prime Minister was concerned that that had sent a signal to the Libyan Government that al-Megrahi could be part of a negotiation, the PMS said that the Government had been completely consistent on this; Libyan officials had previously raised the al-Megrahi situation and we had always said that it was not a matter for the UK Government.

Put that the Libyans could conclude from negotiations about the PTA that al-Megrahi’s fate was linked to wider negotiations concerning some sort of deal, the PMS said that a decision had been ultimately made by the Scottish Executive.

Asked if the Prime Minister had had contact with Gaddafi regarding al-Megrahi’s reception in Libya, the PMS said that the Prime Minister made clear in his recent press conference that he was shocked at the reaction at Tripoli airport.

Asked if the Prime Minister felt frustrated that the correspondence had to be released, the PMS said no; the Prime Minister felt it was right that the correspondence should be published.

Asked if the Prime Minister had received any direct protest from the White House, the PMS said no, not that he was aware of, but the Prime Minister had regular discussions with the President. The special relationship between the UK and the US was extremely important and robust.

Asked why the Prime Minister persisted on not commenting on the decision the Scottish Executive took regarding al-Megrahi, the PMS said that the Prime Minister made it clear that this was a quasi-judicial decision and therefore not appropriate for him to comment. The Prime Minister made clear that once the decision had been executed it was extremely important that we thought of the feelings of the families involved and it was the UK Government’s responsibility to ensure that it was dealt with in a very sensitive way, which was why he had written to Gaddafi. The Prime Minister respected the decision made by the Scottish Executive but did not wish to comment on it further, for reasons already explained.

Asked about the Prime Minister’s meeting with Gaddafi and whether or not the issue of prisoner transfer or release on compassionate grounds came up regarding al-Megrahi, the PMS said that Colonel Gaddafi had raised the issue of the release of al-Megrahi in the meeting, which the Prime Minister had talked about in his Financial Times article.

Put that Gaddafi could have interpreted the Prime Minister’s response as an assurance that London wouldn’t stop al-Megrahi’s release, the PMS said that he did not agree with that suggestion.

Put that the discussion between the Prime Minister and Colonel Gaddafi seemed to be quite long and in-depth, the PMS said that he had no further details to give out about the meeting but would get back to journalists if there was anything further to add.

Asked about when the decision had been made to release the correspondence, the PMS said that there had been discussions over the weekend and the decision was made then.

Put that people were still angry that the UK Government had not intervened in the decision to release al-Megrahi, the PMS said that under the devolved structure it was entirely correct that the UK Government did not intervene. It was correct that the decisions that were made were done so by the Scottish Executive alone.

Put that the UK Government seemed to be the only one that didn’t want to get involved, the PMS said that it was important to see the correspondence released this afternoon.

Asked if there was any correspondence that would not be released, the PMS said that all the relevant correspondence would be released.

Asked who had decided what correspondence should be released, the PMS said that the FCO and MoJ had made the decision, along with the Scottish Executive.

Asked why the Prime Minister had not expressed an opinion as to whether the right decision was made concerning al-Megrahi’s release, the PMS said that the Prime Minister was clear that the decision was for the Scottish Executive to make, but that he had concerns about the aftermath of the decision and what happened at Tripoli airport.

Asked if the Prime Minister was embarrassed that his letter to Colonel Gaddafi regarding al-Megrahi’s return to Libya was ignored, the PMS said that it was the right thing for the Prime Minister to write to Colonel Gaddafi asking him to tackle the situation sensibly. The Prime Minister’s comments about what happened at Tripoli reflected his concern about the situation.

Asked about Libya’s 40th anniversary celebrations, the PMS said that the UK would be represented by our Deputy Head of Mission, Mark Matthews.

Asked if there had been any disagreement between the UK Government and Scottish Executive about what correspondence should be released, the PMS said no, but we wanted to make sure that we tailored the letters in a way and time that suited the Scottish Parliamentary timetable.

Asked about negotiations regarding compensation for IRA victims, the PMS said that he would find out and get back to the journalist.

Asked when the correspondence dated from, the PMS said that it dated from the summer of 2007.

Put there was an argument for correspondence from 2004 to be released, the PMS said that the relevant documentation in relation to the al-Megrahi case was being released.

Put that the UK Government had not been consistently clear with the Libyans about their position on al-Megrahi and any wider negotiations regarding normalisation or business, the PMS said that he did not agree with that.

Asked if there was any evidence to back up that reply, the PMS said not directly.

Asked if the Prime Minister regretted that this matter had become a political football, the PMS said that the Prime Minister was concerned that people understood the reasoning behind the decision taken in Scotland and why it was not possible for the UK Government to influence the decision. It was also important that people understood there was no link between commercial business and the decision to release al-Megrahi.

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» Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Lockerbie

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