Tom Peterkin: on Megrahi
Gordon Brown has finally said something on the Lockerbie situation. The PM said he was repulsed by the reception given to Megrahi when he came back to Libya last week.
Brown is hardly alone in expressing that opinion. His view on whether or not the decision to free Megrahi was correct remains a mystery.
The sight of Scottish saltires welcoming a man convicted of murdering 270 innocent victims was obviously deeply unsatisfactory. So was there an alternative?
One SNP minister told me that he was "very proud" of the way Kenny MacAskill dealt with what most people recognise was an exceptionally difficult dilemma.
The Justice Secretary was in a truly unenviable position. But his sanctimonious comment suggesting that Megrahi had been dealt with by a "higher power" sounded as if it should have come from the mouth of a Kirk minister rather than a Justice minister.
And his suggestion that Scots are somehow more humane than other people, smacked of self-satisfied parochialism.
MacAskill released Megrahi on compassionate grounds, because he is suffering from terminal prostate cancer.
A number of MSPs - notably the Tories - are saying that plenty of compassion could have been shown to Megrahi had he stayed in Scotland for what remains of his life. That would have avoided the triumphant homecoming of Megrahi that was so sickening for so many of the victims' families.
MacAskill said that he ruled out a Scottish solution because of the "severe" security implications. But many at Holyrood are wondering if MacAskill fully explored that option. Pursuit of that course would have upset Libyans, but look out for more questions in the parliament on that topic.
Brown is hardly alone in expressing that opinion. His view on whether or not the decision to free Megrahi was correct remains a mystery.
The sight of Scottish saltires welcoming a man convicted of murdering 270 innocent victims was obviously deeply unsatisfactory. So was there an alternative?
One SNP minister told me that he was "very proud" of the way Kenny MacAskill dealt with what most people recognise was an exceptionally difficult dilemma.
The Justice Secretary was in a truly unenviable position. But his sanctimonious comment suggesting that Megrahi had been dealt with by a "higher power" sounded as if it should have come from the mouth of a Kirk minister rather than a Justice minister.
And his suggestion that Scots are somehow more humane than other people, smacked of self-satisfied parochialism.
MacAskill released Megrahi on compassionate grounds, because he is suffering from terminal prostate cancer.
A number of MSPs - notably the Tories - are saying that plenty of compassion could have been shown to Megrahi had he stayed in Scotland for what remains of his life. That would have avoided the triumphant homecoming of Megrahi that was so sickening for so many of the victims' families.
MacAskill said that he ruled out a Scottish solution because of the "severe" security implications. But many at Holyrood are wondering if MacAskill fully explored that option. Pursuit of that course would have upset Libyans, but look out for more questions in the parliament on that topic.
Labels: Kenny MacAskill, Lockerbie, Megrahi, Tom Peterkin
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