Back to Libya - now Mr Rammell is involved

I have written in a previous posting about the sophistry of the Government, regarding the release of Libyan mass murderer, Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi. Sadly, my worst fears have been confirmed as day after day, Government papers have been leaked which show all the manoeverings behind the scenes by Whitehall and Government Ministers. Moreover, Gordon Brown's continued silence over the matter has simply fuelled the suspicions people have.

Now it seems that our own MP, Bill Rammell, is deeply involved, having previously been senior Foreign Office Minister (he was recently moved to become Armed Forces Minister). According to Iain Dale's website, and today's Guardian:

"In a major setback for Downing Street, which has insisted the release was entirely a matter for Edinburgh, it emerged that a Foreign Office minister intervened last February to make clear to Libya that Brown hoped Abdelbaset al-Megrahi would not "pass away" in prison.
Amid warnings from Tripoli that allowing Megrahi to die in prison would amount to a "death sentence", Bill Rammell, then a Foreign Office minister, passed the message to Abdulati Alobidi, Libya's Europe minister, during a meeting in Tripoli.

His intervention was revealed today in a note of a meeting which took place in Glasgow in March between Scottish officials and Alobidi. The note disclosed that the Libyan minister had said: "Mr Rammell had stated that neither the prime minister nor the foreign secretary would want Mr Megrahi to pass away in prison but the decision on transfer lies in the hands of Scottish ministers........

In a sign of ministerial unease, it took Rammell almost two hours to respond to the publication of his reported remarks. Rammell – now a defence minister – made no attempt to deny his intervention when he released a brief statement which reiterated the British position that
Megrahi's status was a matter for the Scottish authorities. "Neither the Libyans nor the Scottish executive were left in any doubt throughout this entire process that this was a decision for the Scottish executive over which the UK government sought no influence," Rammell said. "I made it clear in all my dealings with the Libyans that the decision around Megrahi was exclusively one for the Scottish executive." David Cameron seized on Rammell's intervention to demand a public inquiry into the release of Megrahi, claiming that Brown now stands accused of double dealing".

The Guardian report indicates that the UK Government, prepared the way for Al Megrahi's release. They can no longer claim that it was entirely down to a decision of the Scottish Executive.

Mr Rammell's apparent actions are an example showing that the Government's so called 'ethical foreign policy' is nothing more than a sham - a pretty headline for the newspapers. Any fair interpretation of the above shows that the Government was doing everything possible to secure the return of the Libyan to Tripoli. No wonder critics of what occurred, argue that Mr Rammell was seemingly a willing tool in the machinations that went on. As many will be aware, Mr Rammell has plenty of form on this sort of thing. Remember the Iraq war anyone?

The release of Al Megrahi and his return to Libya, was an outrage, and an action which will give succour to terrorists across the globe. It will be unforgivable if it emerges that the's Government's decision was made for commercial reasons. There has to be a point where morality in foreign policy begins and the pursuit of profits ends - especially when the security of our country is at stake. Otherwise we might as well just sit back and turn out the lights.

-- by Robert Halfon Post From My iPhone