Was The Lockerbie Bomber Released To Facilitate An Arms Deal?

Abdul Basset al-Megrahi was the only person convicted of the 1988 bombing of the PanAm Flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. (Reuters)

Lockerbie Bomber Release Linked To Arms Deal, According To Secret Letter -- The Telegraph

The release of the Lockerbie bomber was linked by the Government to a £400 million arms-export deal to Libya, according to secret correspondence obtained by The Sunday Telegraph.

An email sent by the then British ambassador in Tripoli details how a prisoner transfer agreement would be signed once Libya “fulfils its promise” to buy an air defence system.

The disclosure is embarrassing for members of the then Labour government, which always insisted that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi’s release was not linked to commercial deals.

The email, which contained a briefing on the UK’s relations with Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, was sent on June 8 2008 by Sir Vincent Fean, the then UK ambassador, to Tony Blair’s private office, ahead of a visit soon after he stepped down as prime minister.

Mr Blair flew to Tripoli to meet Gaddafi on June 10, in a private jet provided by the dictator, one of at least six visits Mr Blair made to Libya after quitting Downing Street.

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Update: Report: Lockerbie bomber release 'linked to arms deal' -- ITV

My Comment: Regular readers of this blog know that for years I have been a harsh critic on the reasons used by to then Labor Labor government to release the Lockerbie Bomber and return him back to Libya. To put it bluntly .... you do not release someone who was convicted for the murder of 200 people just because he is too sick to stay in jail unless there is a damn good reason. If the Telegraph report is true .... we are now getting a small hint on what those "unstated" reasons were.