Morning:
10°c
The repercussions from the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, are turning out to be very serious indeed.
The Prime Minister has, to all intents and purposes, gone to ground: he is unable to surface even to congratulate the England cricket team for its Ashes victory.
The Scottish parliament meets today to discuss the merits of the decision by the justice secretary, Ken MacAskill.
In the US there has been real anger at the decision from the highest quarters - including the president, the head of the FBI and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - down to victims' families.
There is talk of a US boycott of Scotland as a tourist destination and of Scottish and British goods, though whether that will be realised is quite another matter.
Meanwhile, Mr al-Megrahi himself is said to be considering writing a book - presumably if his condition allows - which may increase the stubborn doubts about the validity of his conviction.
It is an unlovely situation which has not been assisted by talk of the Business Secretary Peter Mandelson's fleeting social encounters with the son of the Libyan leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi.
That, if anything, compounds the embarrassment that the Prime Minister must have felt at being thanked by name by Col Gaddafi for his help, though plainly Mr Brown's plea that Libya should show restraint on Mr al-Megrahi's return fell on deaf ears.
In all this, the most serious question is the damage to US-British relations.
Whatever benefit Britain may obtain from this release - though it may not have swayed Mr MacAskill - in the way of closer commercial ties is of very little importance by comparison.
For Barack Obama the special relationship is rather less significant than it was for previous presidents; this hardly helps. The onus is now on the British government to repair the damage done.
And, in fact, for the US administration, the importance of Britain's role in Afghanistan will ultimately override other considerations. President Obama wants to increase the numbers of Nato troops in Afghanistan to 200,000, the overwhelming majority from the US.
But as it happens, British generals are saying an increase in troop numbers would actually assist their forces to do their job more effectively and help train Afghan forces more quickly.
Mr Brown may, therefore, want to reconsider his refusal to commit more troops to the region.
The release of Mr al-Megrahi also brings home some of the implications of devolution. The discrete Scottish responsibility for justice turns out to have repercussions for Britain.
That needs sober reflection. Mr Brown will have to come out of his bunker, and tell us what he thinks.
GCSE rethink
The GCSE results this week are already being overshadowed by arguments about whether the exam bears comparison with the International GCSE, the IGCSE, which is being adopted by increasing numbers of independent schools.
The IGCSE resembles O-levels; it excludes coursework and, unlike the mainstream exam, subjects such as science are not broken into modules.
The Government stoutly denies that there is anything wrong with its own exams; indeed, league tables exclude the International GCSE, which means they relegate some independent schools to the bottom of the league.
The Tories have acknowledged reality by saying they will allow state schools to offer IGCSEs too.
But the real answer is to reform GCSEs to give them the same robustness and credibility as the alternative.
A lovely weekend
What a splendid weekend it has been. Winning the Ashes has raised the spirits of the nation and watching the match on open-air screens made victory even more exhilarating.
The Proms were a triumph. And the weather, in harmony with the mood, could not have been better.
Who says London isn't the place to spend August?
Reader views (2)
Al-Megrahi took the 'rap' for the bombing,now the government is leting the Scottish assembly take the rap for letting him out.
- Jimfred, London UK, 24/08/2009 17:24
Report abuse
The release of Al Megrahi demonstrates that the UK is no longer the puppet state that the US authorities believed we were.
The USA should be grateful that the Al Megrahi appeal will no longer take place. The talk of paying witnesses and creating false evidence will remain just that. In addition, as Al Megrahi can no longer prove his innocence. The possibility of Libya demanding their US$2.16 billion compensation money is removed. The accusing finger will not be pointed at Iran either. Therefore the reality that America brought the Lockerbie bombing upon itself in retaliation for the shooting down of a Iranian airliner with 290 people on board. We should therefore treat any visible signs of indignation from the USA as emotional and in some cases staged.
As for the talk of a boycott against Scottish or even the UK's goods, we should see it for what it is, the bullying of a small nation by a massive one. Eventually it will create an anti American backlash. Which apart from eventually starting a boycott and American goods and companies over here. Will increase the public demand for a withdrawal of our troops' involvement with the US in Afghanistan.
Give them them time to calm down and think about it.
Regardless of the rights and wrongs of the release of Al Megrahi, one thing is for sure, Gordon Brown is a coward. His absence from the official signing of the Lisbon treaty and his avoidance of a general election. Told us all we need to know about him.
- Harry H, London UK, 24/08/2009 10:33
Report abuse
