Britain facing backlash over Lockerbie release

Amid a deepening international backlash over the move, Kenny MacAskill will face his political opponents in the Scottish Parliament when members gather for an emergency debate.

Yesterday Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond was forced to again defend Abdelbaset Ali Al Megrahi's release in the face of blistering attacks from his predecessor Jack McConnell and the head of the FBI.

Mr Salmond, the leader of the Scottish National Party administration in Edinburgh, said Mr MacAskill had made the "right decision" for "absolutely the right reasons".

And he insisted that Scotland's relationship with the United States remained strong, despite fears the deepening row could have damaging repercussions for Scottish businesses and wider British-US relations.

Megrahi, who is terminally ill with cancer, was freed by Mr MacAskill on compassionate grounds after serving eight years of a life sentence. He returned home to Libya to jubilant scenes that included people waving Scottish flags.

Yesterday the US' top US military officer joined in the condemnation of the release.

Speaking on CNN's State of the Union show, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said: "This is obviously a political decision."

Several US senators also pitched in, with Democrat Ben Cardin saying: "The terrorist shows no compassion and to give him a compassionate
release was wrong.

"I think it's very serious and I think there should be consequences."

A website boycottscotland.com has been set up. It said: "We urge all Americans to protest this action by boycotting the United Kingdom and Scotland in full.

"Don't travel to Scotland or do business there (or in the United Kingdom in general) and don't buy any British or Scottish products."

In London, UK ministers have expressed concern over the potential political damage because of Megrahi's release.

Employment Minister Jim Knight told Sky News yesterday: "I hope that there is no fallout from this for Scotland, and I hope that there is no fallout from this for the UK in terms or our relationship with the US which is a key relationship for us."

The Scottish Parliament returns today, a week early, for its emergency debate.

Former Scots Labour chief Mr McConnell said members needed to make clear that the decision did not have the support of the Scottish people.

"I think it's absolutely vital that the Scottish Parliament now takes action to limit that damage and to give a clear indication to the rest of the world that when the Scottish Government made this decision they were not acting with the support of the people of Scotland," he said.

Meanwhile, Gordon Brown continued to come under pressure from opposition parties to say whether he supported Megrahi's release. So far, UK ministers have refused to comment, sticking firmly to the line that it was a matter for the Scottish authorities.

But amid signs of increasing strains between London and Edinburgh, the Foreign Office dismissed suggestions that ministers in London had tacitly encouraged their Scottish counterparts to go ahead with the release.

In response to a letter from Mr MacAskill asking for advice on the legal position, Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis concluded: "I hope on this basis you will now feel able to consider the Libyan action in accordance with the provisions of the prisoner transfer agreement."

The Sunday Times quoted a source close to Mr MacAskill as saying: "That clearly means 'I hope on this basis you will feel able to approve the Libyan application'. That's the only conclusion you can take from it."

However, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said that Mr Lewis had explicitly stated in the letter that the Government was not making representations on whether Megrahi should be transferred to Libya.

"It is absolute rubbish to suggest that this letter provided any encouragement to transfer Megrahi to Libya," the spokeswoman said.

"It merely provided the British government's legal opinion, as requested by the Scottish government, in order to give Scottish ministers the information they had requested to enable them to make a decision."