Lockerbie bomber hospitalized. Britain's Brown denies deal, again.
Gordon Brown says no double dealing or oil deal one day after his government released classified documents about freeing Abdelbaset al-Magrahi.
Deny. Deny. Deny.
It鈥檚 becoming a daily thing for Britain鈥檚 Prime Minister Gordon Brown as the fallout surrounding the release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi snowballs. It's now being reported that Mr. Megrahi has been hospitalized in Libya.
And earlier today 鈥� one day after Brown's government released previously classified documents in a bid to quell mounting allegations of ulterior motives in the release of Megrahi 鈥� Mr. Brown again denied any unsavory actions on the part of the British government: 鈥淭here was g, no deal on oil, no attempt to instruct Scottish ministers, no private assurances by me to [Libyan leader] [Col. Muammar] Qaddafi.鈥�
It鈥檚 鈥榮hambolic,鈥� I say
Brown鈥檚 words come in response to comments from opposition Conservative party leader David Cameron, who leads in the polls less than a year before an election.
鈥淲e are now in a shambolic situation where the government has upset one of our most important allies,鈥� . 鈥淭hey stand accused of double-dealing, saying one thing to the Libyans in private ... and something else to the Americans.鈥�
Unfortunately for Brown, however, his denials come as Foreign Minister David Miliband confirmed that the British government did not want Megrahi to die in prison.
Special relationship?
Mr. Miliband鈥檚 comment suggests that Britain had 鈥渘o interest鈥� in fulfilling assurances that top-level US officials say were made to the United States when the bomber was sentenced, according to David Rivkin, a former Justice Department official. 鈥樷�橳his will damage US relations with Britain for years to come,鈥� Mr. Divkin told the BBC. 鈥樷�橧 really can鈥檛 think about a more duplicitous act by Britain vis-脿-vis the United States in the post-war period.鈥欌��
The issue has caused some strain in the vaunted 鈥渟pecial relationship鈥� between the US and Britain, including some hyperventalating by commentators.
reads the headline of one particularly stinging piece of commentary in London鈥檚 right-leaning paper, The Times.
鈥淭he row over the decision to allow Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi to return to Libya is the final nail in the coffin for the transatlantic bond first identified by Winston Churchill after the Second World War,鈥� writes columnist Rachel Sylvester.
That may be a bit much. But the Scottish Parliament didn't think so. Asked to endorse the compassionate release of the Lockerbie bomer, the members voted 75 to 50 that it was not "consistent with the principles of Scottish justice."
What do you think?