Praise for Britain - and the 'deal' struck in a desert tent

Officially the decision to free terminally-ill Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was by the Scottish Government alone.

However, in the murky world of realpolitik few doubt that senior British figures including Gordon Brown, Lord Mandelson, Tony Blair and Prince Andrew played a key role in bringing about the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber yesterday.

The Libyan leader is seen as a "good guy" in the Middle East, keen to improve his relations with the West and sitting on an estimated 44billion barrels of untapped crude oil reserves.

The deal that led to yesterday's release is believed to date back to talks between the then Prime Minister Tony Blair and Colonel Gaddafi in his tent in 2007.

It is claimed an outline legal agreement on "prisoner transfer" was settled hours before oil giant BP announced a £500million investment in oil exploration in the Libyan desert, on the same day as the Blair-Gaddafi talks. The Libyan Government is said to have used the prisoner transfer agreement brokered that day in their application earlier this year for al-Megrahi's release.

However, the Scottish Justice Minister said his decision was based purely on compassionate grounds.

Since 2007 relations between Britain and Libya have continued to improve, particularly through contacts with the Libyan leader's pro-western second son, who was educated at the London School of Economics. He is particularly close to Britain's special trade ambassador Prince Andrew.

Suspicions about the background to the release deepened this week when it emerged that Lord Mandelson met Seif Gaddafi while on holiday in Corfu earlier this month. Lord Mandelson was staying as a guest of the Rothschild family on the Greek island and his visit overlapped with the Libyan leader's son by one night.

The Government has admitted the pair had a "fleeting conversation" about the prisoner, but denied there was any link to the speculation of al-Megrahi's imminent release that began swirling shortly after their meeting.

They were "entirely coincidental", said Lord Mandelson's spokesman.

The deal - if that is what it proves to be - will also help Gaddafi secure his dynastic succession. On 1 September he will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Revolution that bought him to power as "Brother Leader."