Jack Straw Denies Deal For Megrahi

Today, the Lord Chancellor and Minister of Justice in the United Kingdom Government, Jack Straw (left), has written a letter to the Herald newspaper in Scotland denying any deal with the Libyan government to repatriate the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing.

Responding to recent claims that Megrahi was a pivotal figure and perhaps the only consideration, in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Libya's Col. Gaddafi in May 2007 regrading prisoner tranfers, Mr Straw has reiterated that Scottish ministers will have final say as to the fate of Mr Megrahi. Additionally, Mr Straw has also stated that any prisoner transfer will only be considered after "all outstanding legal proceedings in the sentencing state have been completed. "

He continued, "The agreement will not provide for the transfer of any specific individual but will put in place a framework under which a prisoner may seek a transfer to serve his sentence in his own country. The overriding principle of prisoner transfer arrangements is that a prisoner does not have any automatic right to transfer." The BBC is reporting however that Mr Megrahi will not apply for any transfer under the agreement.

Jack Straw Letter to The Herald : http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/letters/display.var.2042935.0.No_deal_done_with_Libya_over_alMegrahi.php

Herald Article:
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2042957.0.Scottish_ministers_will_have_final_say_over_fate_of_Lockerbie_bomber.php
BBC Article : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7244033.stm