Lockerbie & Occam's Razor

Michael

You should keep in mind that Gordon Brown's only priority is personal and party politics. He has dropped the SNP into the Brown stuff.

Judy

There is no conspiracy. There is however an inordinate amount of grandstanding and posturing on the part of the Scottish provincial minsters. And the usual total evasiveness, areas of silence and extremely careful choosing of ambiguous and potentially misleading words that characterises the spin of the Gordon Brown administration.

But the main fact here is that the Treaty provision which enabled the Megrahi release required the express agreement of the UK government. I've explained that, drawn attention to the key clause and commented on its relationship to Brown's well documented track record and methods on my blog.

Far from a conspiracy, the relevant Treaty is sitting there on the FCO website for anyone with an internet connection to consult.

"Scotland-nation on the march--takes on and defies the US in the name of compassion" makes great newspaper stories, and there may be very good realpolitik reasons for the US to vent public fury on the Scots.

And yes, there is a preamble in the Treaty that says Scottish prisoner transfers are the responsibility of the Scottish administration. But Treaty preambles are just political commentary and glosses. They have no specific legal force and certainly do not in this case override the requirement for both nations, ie the UK and Libya to agree each and every prisoner release.

Scotland is not a nation. It is a province with legal powers that go somewhat beyond those of a local authority. But it has no competence in foreign affairs or the control of international relations and the making and carrying out of Treaties.

Rhoda Klapp

It's not a conspiracy because the people concerned are too thick to bring it off? That's just what they want you to think.

A logical point, Occam's razor says it isn't people conspiring, so it's not? Well, surely a decent cover story is designed to be simpler and more plausible than the unrevealed machinations? My BS alarm says if Mandy has denied it, it must be true.

denverthen

Well, I suppose you've taken this ridiculous line for the duration, so at least you'll be consistent.

Mandelson et al have form on this sort of thing, so your silly reference to "conspiracies" and Occam's Razor really damage your own point: it's far more likely that Brown put the fix in to let through the trade deals - with Lord Mandy as his fixer. Maybe a higher national interest was being served by the release of a convicted mass murderer - maybe that was the motive behind this activity. But to suggest people should take it at face value, and to suggest it in the derisory tone you adopt, Massie, is to take us for utter idiots.

You know, like this government does. Perhaps you do too. Nice way to view your own readership.

There was a deal and it wasn't acceptable by any standards of morality or justice or, for that matter, of "compassion". One thing is absolutely certain, though: SNP members of the Scots' talking shop and the UK government are praying Megrahi will be dead before his three months are up. How compassionate is that!

Grassmarket

No, Mueller is correct, MacAskill and the Swiss Government are giving out the signal to terrorists that European Governments will go back to dealing with terrorists they way they did back in the 1960s and 1970s - that is, let them go as soon as any pressure is put on them.

cuffleyburgers

Alex

Given the mindset of the people responsible for these matters (Blair, Mandelson, Microband, the CIA, MI6) I have no doubt whatsoever that there is a conspiracy afoot, and that the truth once it eventually emerges will stink to high heaven.

We are still waiting for a statement from McCavity (Actually it would have been good if the Dear Leader had wished the chap a pleasant return to his home country, then perhaps his plane would have crashed, or he would have been lynched by the mob on his emergence, blinking, into the sunlight)

Now, about Trott - he didn't seem to do so badly after all? Glad you're not on the board of selectors...

paul greenwood

But on more important matters - what do you have to say on the Ashes victory and Trott's outstanding contribution, given your recent predictions of doom and selector incompetence?

Rob Marrs

I think:

a) London wanted him released for whatever reasons.
b) That they pressured MacAskill into releasing him.
c) MacAskill and the SNP wanted to release him anyway.

What galls is the hypocrisy running throughout this mess - Democrats who are only to happy to stand next to Irish terrorists (or campaign for their release) moaning that we release a terrorist. MacAskill and co saying that others shouldn't interfere in our due process yet they lobby the Americans over this kid with Asperger's. Iain Gray critiquing Salmond when his boss clearly wanted this to go ahead. The head of the FBI talking about due process when his own nation is being accused of holding mock executions.

RCM

Sempronius

Well done Alex for cutting through all the nonsense.

David

It's okay Alex. I'm quite prepared to believe it's only because Scots have greater compassion for mass murdering terrorists than for the families of their victims, particularly if any of those families are American.

ndm

-- Furthermore, FBI Director Robert Mueller's letter to Kenny MacAskill complaining that MacAskill has "made a mockery of justice" is a poor, shabby piece of work. The idea that "Your action gives comfort to terrorists around the world" is utterly fanciful - unless you think that some wretched plotter in Islamabad looks at all this and decides that, hang it, he'll put aside his concerns about the risks of blowing up the Karachi Hilton and go ahead with it because, you know, there's always a chance Kenny MacAskill will get involved. Or something. It's nonsense and if Mueller doesn't know it's nonsense one wonders whether he's really up to task of running the FBI.

I got an email from someone who "thought Mueller was overly involved emotionally." That is true. The reality is that Mueller has been head of the FBI since before 9/11. During that time senior US Government officials have committed serious crimes - far worse than anything Nixon did - yet Mueller has done absolutely nothing to ensure justice is done let alone is seen to be done. His is the compassion of the coward.

Kenny MacAskill should be robust in his response to Mueller. Ideally, he should print out the International Convention on Torture and on the ba back write definitions of justice and compassion before ceremonially presenting them to Mueller. But that is not the way of diplomacy but then neither was Mueller's. The man deserves an earful.

Ian C

You say: "I'm unpersuaded that there's much to be said for keeping a dying man in prison.."

Yes, but the rest of us are equally unpersuaded that compassion shown should result in a hero's welcome for the man found guilty 8 years ago of one the more heinous individual crimes ever committed. What sort of ministerial stupidity, compassion, law or political imperative (or a combination of some or all 4) did not take that into account?

ndm

One gauge of the likely impact of the decision on American-Scottish relations is that Marc Ambinder's roundup of The Sunday Shows In Seven Sentences Or Less contains no mention of the issue.

Tom W

I imagine that most of the complaints are really about a perceived lack of political overview of the decision. Ostensibly, Westminster has the (Foreign) Political brief and Edinburgh the Justice brief, and there was no official linkage.

In a Federal system like the USA, presumably the original trial and subsequent treatment would have been in the federal system. Hasn't this conflict emerged before, in the 300 years of the Union?

Perhaps the appeal should be pursued as a review of the original case?

Beer Moth

The hell all this has to do with someone having a shave I don't know.

Judy

My further reflections on the arguably cynical way the Obama regime has played this here

ndm

Judy writes:

-- But the main fact here is that the Treaty provision which enabled the Megrahi release required the express agreement of the UK government. I've explained that, drawn attention to the key clause and commented on its relationship to Brown's well documented track record and methods on my blog.

This is completely wrong.

In his initial statement, Kenny MacAskill addressed the issue of the Libyan request that Al-Megrahi be transfered to a Libyan prison. MacAskill decided to REJECT the application. Consequently, Al-Megrahi could not be transferred to a Libyan prison as provided under the Prisoner Transfer Agreement. The treaty provisions therefore became irrelevant to his release.

Instead, Al-Megrahi was released from custody under Scots Law provisions for compassionate release. Presumably he could have stayed in Scotland had he wanted and been able to satisfy immigration requirements - which presumably he did not want and could not do. Consequently, he was released in Scotland and travelled, not transferred, to Libya a free man.

Beefeater

Your understanding of what "giving comfort" to terrorists is a poor, shabby reading. What comforts terrorists is the "weak horse" image of the West. Showing compassion to enemies parades a very sorry old nag in front of the Jihadis.
How do you tell the difference between a competent conspirator and an incompetent one? And does foolishness mitigate the knavery?
Teasing the fine threads out of a political confusion is what you do best.
Have you tried molding figurines out of lint?

Alex Buchan

An interesting intervention in the debate in the Scottish Parliament by the Labour MSP Patricia Ferguson cast further light on what's been going on behind the scenes.

First to set her intervention in context.

It became clear today from MacAskill that the Prisoner Transfer request came from the Libyan government, not Megrahi himself. MacAskill said it was the requirement on him to find out what Magrahi's view on this was which led to the prison visit [given that MacAskill would be opposed to P.T. on principle one could understand why he wanted to check if Magrahi wanted this]. MacAskill seemed to imply that his initial fact-finding activity, including speaking to the families of the bereaved, as well as Megrahi, was made necessary by this move by the Libyan government.

Now to Ferguson's intervention.

She asked if the Justice Secretary had sought advice from his legal advisers as to whether he was competent to refuse the Prison Transfer rather than to merely check whether Magrahi met the criteria. In other words, she was saying that the Prisoner Transfer legislation, because it was based on a treaty between the UK and Libya, was not something he had authority to intervene in.

MacAskill did not accept this, but the fact that he pre-empted having to test this by releasing Magrahi anyway makes one wonder. The fact that Magrahi dropped his appeal may now be understood as a necessary means of maintaining pressure on MacAskill to, either agree to P.T., or respond in some other way [the continuation of the appeal would have ruled out Prisoner Transfer]. Clearly, having objected to the deal, the Scottish government would not want to be seen to be implementing it, if there was an alternative. However, in going for compassionate release, instead, they have muddied the waters and let the UK government off the hook. As a result they have also taken all the flack themselves.

This may also explain the Libyan government's response of thanking Brown i.e. because the release came out of the process initiated by their request for Prisoner Transfer [something agreed between them and the Labour government]. Presumably, also, they would have been reminded of this option when Gaddafi spoke to Brown at the G8 and his son spoke to Mandelson in Greece.

Brown's advisors may well have guessed that the Scottish government would be forced by the terms of the Prisoner Transfer legislation to seek an alternative solution, which respected the independence of Scot's Law. In other words, keeping him in Scotland was never an option once Libya entered a request for Prisoner Transfer.

Ian C

Alex Buchan
August 24th, 2009 10:17pm

Can you confirm that you are employed as an SNP PR adviser?

ally

I'd take Mueller's comments more seriously if we hadn't all had to listen to the US Government spend the last three decades telling us to let murdering terrorists out of prison. I'm sure they think a penchant for Guinness makes all the difference, but I'm rather afraid that I don't.