Celebration: Megrahi returns to Libya with Gaddafi's son
The Lockerbie bomber refused chemotherapy in a Scottish prison in an attempt to make his condition deteriorate and force his release, it was claimed yesterday.
Abdelbaset Al Megrahi was believed to be terminally ill with prostate cancer when he was sent home to Libya on compassionate grounds exactly a year ago.
But since his release Megrahi has responded well to a similar treatment – which is available on the NHS – and there claims that he could live another seven years.
A terminally ill Libyan convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has enjoyed a year of freedom at home in a case that has complicated relations between the new British government and the US administration.
Scottish authorities freed Abdel Basset al-Megrahi to return home on August 20 last year on compassionate grounds. Megrahi, who has prostate cancer, was expected to live only three months but has survived, prompting US questions about the medical advice on which the decision was based.
US anger over the release resurfaced after American politicians questioned whether oil giant BP Plc had lobbied Scotland for Megrahi’s release. BP and Scottish ministers have denied the accusations which risked further tarnishing BP’s reputation after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Abdel Basset al-Megrahi sits in a wheelchair in his room at a hospital in Tripoli September 9, 2009
Summoned: Jack Straw, left, has been 'invited' to testify at the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Last night former PM Tony Blair was forced to deny that he had also been requested to appear
A diplomatic row was brewing between the UK and the U.S. this morning after Tony Blair was forced to deny he had been summoned by the Senate to explain his role in the release of the Lockerbie bomber.
Party venue: The Rothschild family's French chateau-style Waddesdon Manor
Keen shot: Saif Gaddafi, Host: Nat Rothschild and Guest: Cherie Blair
Lord Mandelson has infuriated families of the Lockerbie bombing victims by attending a shooting party with Colonel Gaddafi's son.
The Business Secretary and Saif Gaddafi were guests of billionaire financier Lord Rothschild and his son Nat at the family mansion in Buckinghamshire.
In a bizarre confirmation of Labour's close links to the Libyan regime, Cherie Blair was also present.
The gathering came after the controversial release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al Megrahi, who was flown home by Saif Gaddafi to a hero's welcome in August.
Megrahi, who has prostate cancer, was released from a Scottish jail after being given just three months to live.
His continued survival, however, more than three months later has renewed claims that his release was cynically engineered to placate the Gaddafi regime and protect lucrative oil contracts with Tripoli.
Details of the shooting party at Lord Rothschild's French chateau-style Waddesdon Manor estate, near Aylesbury, are revealed today by Spectator magazine columnist Charles Moore.
He writes: 'A shoot was taking place, though not all the party were shooting. As well as Lord Rothschild and his son Nat, the unofficial deputy prime minister, Lord Mandelson, was there, and also Lord Rothschild's country neighbour, Cherie Blair.
'Neither of them picked up a gun.
Various young friends of Nat with double-barrelled or European princely names were shooting. But the keenest shot was Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the Libyan dictator.'
The revelations raised new questions over Lord Mandelson's judgment, three months after he dined with Saif Gaddafi at Lord Rothschild's estate in Corfu just days before Megrahi's release was announced.
Frank Duggan, president of Victims of Pan Am 103 said: 'I don't think it's appropriate at all but I can't say I am very surprised.
'The release of Megrahi was an incredible victory for Libya and Saif Gaddafi engineered the whole thing to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Libyan revolution.
The British government and the Scottish government fell into that trap.'
He accused senior ministers of feathering the nests of British businesses. Lord Mandelson was an outspoken supporter of closer trade links with Libya during his time as EU Trade Commissioner.
'Gaddafi was openly boasting that there was a commercial component and that the oil companies were involved in the deal,' Mr Duggan said. 'My belief is that Megrahi was never as sick as they said he was.'
Tory MP Greg Hands said: 'This extraordinary revelation, if true, raises serious questions for Peter Mandelson. Once again he is mixing up his private associations and his
'For years, he has been at the centre of Britain's relationship with Libya. People will question why the First Secretary thinks it is appropriate to enjoy country house weekends with the man who escorted Megrahi home to a hero's welcome in Libya.' public duties.
The sight of the deputy prime minister in all but name and Mrs Blair, newly hob-nobbing with a band of billionaires and the Gaddafi family, also has the potential to undermine Labour's charge that David Cameron's Tories are the party of toffs.
Lord Mandelson's spokesman issued a brief statement implying that he was rather more embarrassed about being exposed attending a game shoot - wildly unpopular with Labour MPs - than he was about his relations with the regime behind the Lockerbie atrocity.
He said: 'We do not offer a running commentary on Peter Mandelson's social engagements but we can confirm he's never taken part in a pheasant shoot and never will.'
A source close to the Business Secretary confirmed he has no shame about spending time with the Libyan dictator's son.
'Peter always said he'd be happy to meet Saif Gaddafi again.' Mrs Blair's presence is also curious since she would not be considered a natural at a pheasant shoot.
Mrs Blair is an outspoken opponent of blood sports and is widely credited with persuading her husband Tony to bow to pressure from Labour backbenchers to ban hunting with dogs.
The US senate condemned the celebrations in Tripoli after al-Megrahi's release , beside was Qaddafi son.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi addresses the general debate at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Sept. 23, 2009. The 64th session of the UN General Assembly kicked off its general debate on Wednesday.
Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi unleashed a diatribe against the United Nations Security Council but took a shinning to America's new president in his speech to the UN General Assembly here on Wednesday.
Taking the podium for the first time at the UN in his four-decade rule, Qaddafi focused the first part of his one-and-a-half hour speech on denouncing the veto power of the Security Council, saying that he would not accept the veto power of the Permanent Members of the Security Council.
Calling the 15-nation Council, of which Libya is a member, a "terror council," Qaddafi alleged that powerful nations hide under the blue cloak to protect their interests and instigate terror against those more vulnerable. "The Security Council since its establishment did not provide us with security but on the contrary provides us with terror and sanctions," he said, holding an Arabic version of the UN Charter. "It is used against us only. For this reason, we are not committed to adhere to UN resolutions."
The Libyan leader blamed colonial powers for the unbalanced power in the United Nations and demanded that European nations pay Africa 7.7 trillion U.S. dollars in compensation for acts of slavery.
Dressed in a brown tunic and donning a black badge of Africa, Qaddafi suggested that Libya be given a permanent seat on the Security Council -- to much applause in the GA chamber. But then he also proposed that the Council be made subordinate to a reinvigorated General Assembly. He did not outline a clear strategy.
Turning his attention to the United States, Qaddafi called U.S. President Barack Obama a "glimmer in the dark," but said he was afraid that after "our son" left office, relations between the two countries would sour.
"Can you guarantee how America will be governed after Obama?" he asked. "We would be happy if Obama could stay forever."
Qaddafi then suggested that the General Assembly debate be relocated, perhaps to Libya. That way, he said, he and other heads of state would not be jet lagged. He said he awoke this morning at4 a.m. because of the time difference and was extremely tired.
The Libyan leader also said in a mocking tone that moving the debate would help shoulder the American's heavy burden of providing security. This, he said, would be their privilege.
Also demanded that killer of Kennedy and Martin Luther king to be found."The assassination of Kennedy in 1963 - we want to know, who killed him? Lee Harvey? Why was Harvey killed?" he said, referring to the man who was arrested in connection with Kennedy's murder and shot dead while being transferred between jails.
Also give solution to Middle East conflict by forming Isratin a combination of Isreal and Palestine , and Qaddafi believed that the Arab nations will not protects any more.
As Qaddafi gave his speech, relatives of those who died in the Lockerbie, Scotland bombing protested outside the UN headquarters. Many are angry that the Libyan leader was granted a visa just months after the man convicted for the 1988 bombing, Abdel Baset al Megrahi, arrived in Tripoli to a jubilant welcome.
A Scottish judge released Megrahi on compassionate grounds, igniting condemnation from the United States.
As Gaddafi spoke, the US senate approved a resolution condemning the "lavish" welcome-home ceremony that Libya gave last month for Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, who was convicted of the bombing over a US passenger aircraft over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1989.
The US senate demanded that Tripoli apologise for the celebration, which came after Scotland's justice minister released al-Megrahi, a former agent, on compassionate grounds.
Libya has a temporary seat on the Security Council until the end of 2010
People gather around a tent Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009 on a property known as Seven Springs estate owned by real estate magnate Donald Trump in Bedford, N.Y. The Libyan government has pitched a tent on the property that leader Moammar Gadhafi may use for entertaining, according to a State Department official. Gadhafi is due to address the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.
Alleged Libya embassy staffs setting up the tent in Trump owned land. According to Trump's company the land was leased to a middle east partner. Further comments were not given from Trump association.
The entrance to Seven Springs LLC, in Bedford, N.Y., a property owned by real estate magnate Donald Trump, is quiet Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009, north of New York City. A tent has been erected on the site for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi after the property was rented for the visiting head of state. Gadhafi is due to address the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.
Alleged Libya staffs setup illegal tent for Qaddafi. Town spokeman said Qaddafi is not welcome.
Did The Donald and the dictator made a backdoor deal? If so, the plan to pitch a tent in this suburb for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi went south pretty fast. Maybe someone should be fired.
A tent erected by the Libyan government on Donald Trump's estate in Bedford was dismantled Wednesday, and both Trump and the Secret Service said Gadhafi wasn't coming.
For Gadhafi, it was just another failed attempt to find a place to spend time during the UN General Assembly — after his requests for space in Central Park, Englewood, N.J., and Manhattan's Upper East Side were all rejected.
Long unpopular in America, the Libyan leader is now particularly unwelcome after he gave an effusive welcome-home reception for Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of the bombing Pan Am Flight 103. Al-Megrahi was recently freed from prison because he's dying of prostate cancer.
The Libyan-owned estate in New Jersey was vandalized late Wednesday, Englewood mayor Michael Wildes said. Flammable debris was left on the driveway.
"We have business partners and associates all over the world," it said. "The property was leased on a short-term basis to Middle Eastern partners, who may or may not have a relationship to Mr. Gadhafi. We are looking into the matter."
Rhona Graff, a Trump vice president, said Wednesday she had nothing to add about the deal.
"It's a very sensitive, very delicate matter," she said. "I want to make sure I'm 100 percent correct before I get anything to you."
Bedford officials — who learned the tent had been pitched on Tuesday — grew impatient with the real estate titan. Before the tent was dismantled at about 4:45 p.m., town attorney Joel Sachs said Trump's people were not cooperating.
Sachs threatened criminal charges for violating zoning and housing laws, with financial penalties, if the tent was not taken down. Trump could pitch a tent once he obtained the necessary permits, which would take longer than Gadhafi's weeklong trip to New York.
Gadhafi, who stayed at the city's Libyan Mission after arriving Tuesday, addressed the General Assembly on Wednesday, castigating the Security Council by saying, "It should not be called the Security Council, it should be called the 'terror council.'"
Demonstrators were kept well away. Among them was Boteach, an author and frequent TV commentator.
"It's very disheartening to hear that Donald Trump has seemingly opened his doors to Gadhafi," he said.
Gadhafi tried other venues for a tent before turning to Trump's estate. The Libyan government asked to use Manhattan's Central Park for a tent, but that request was denied. And at least one real estate agent added to the resistance.
Jason Haber, a broker at Prudential Douglas Elliman, said Wednesday that Libyan representatives asked to rent an Upper East Side townhouse for a "very important person."
When he told them only part of the building was available, they said they needed the whole house and asked, "Isn't there some way we can make this work?"
"If you send Megrahi back to Scotland, I'm sure we can work something out," he responded, and they hung up.
Megrahi's welcome home in Libya angered many in the US and UK. Megrahi's hero welcom in Libra.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw says trade with Libya was considered and finally Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi is to be freed from a British jail on compassionate grounds to sweeten the 500milion pounds BP oil deal with Tripoli.
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet Cis to be freed from a British jail on compassionate grounds
The house (L) of freed Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi in Tripoli
Scotland's Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and with UK Justice Secretary Jack Straw allow Lockiebird prisoner to be released on humanitarian grounds. However , sources told that BP oil deal were part of the re leash deal. Jack Straw agreed admit the Lockiebird Oil deal link.
Freed Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi suffers from terminal stage of Prostate cancer . The 57-year-old was serving life in Greenock prison for the 1988 bombing of PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie, which killed 270 people.
In January 2008, just weeks after the PTA(Prison Tranfer Agreement) was sealed, Libya ratified a £550m oil deal with BP.
A spokesman for Mr Straw said the minister had always made clear that wider considerations such as trade played a part in the negotiation of the PTA.
He added: "Jack's position has been on the record for some days.
"He has never denied that seeking an agreement with Libya over a Prisoner Transfer Agreement was connected to a wider process of normalising relations with Libya, including on trade, which is in the interests of us all.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisted there was "no conspiracy, no cover-up, no double dealing, no deal on oil" over his release. However , Mr Straw said Mr Brown was not involved in the decision to press ahead with the PTA, saying: "I certainly didn't talk to the PM. There is no paper trail to suggest he was involved at all."
Documents released by the UK Government show Mr Straw had originally tried to ensure that Megrahi was exempted from any prisoner deal with Libya, but in December 2007 he changed his mind.
Deputy First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon said: "All this discussion about the prisoner transfer agreement is academic because al-Megrahi wasn't released under the prisoner transfer agreement.
"Having said that, Jack Straw's comments do tend to support the view that the Scottish Government always took which was that the prisoner transfer agreement was tainted and compromised by trade discussions."
The Scottish National Party MSP added: "That's why I think we were right to both oppose that agreement, but also to reject the application of the Libyan Government to have al-Megrahi released under it."
Conservative foreign affairs spokesman David Lidington said: "It's very hard to square what Jack Straw says today with Gordon Brown's repeated denials of any kind of deal.
"That's why we need an independent inquiry to get to the truth."
Justice Secretary Jack Straw admits trade and oil were factors that played a role in the Lockerbie bomber's release. “I certainly didn’t talk to the PM. There is no paper trail to suggest he was involved at all.” So when did he first talk to Mr Brown? “I don’t think I’ve ever talked to Gordon about Megrahi’s release.” Not even in the past week? “Oh, for sure in the past week,” he says. Surely this vagueness adds to the impression that the Government is being evasive, if not duplicitous? “I think we have been very frank about it,” Mr Straw says, none too convincingly.
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi (second from left) arrives in Tripoli, Libya, on August 21.
Libyan newspapers carry front-page stories on Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi's return to Libya
Libya pressured the British government to include convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbeset al Megrahi in a 2007 prisoner release agreement tied to trade deals between the two countries, a son of Libya's leader told CNN on Friday.
Britain refused to include al Megrahi in any deal, however, angering the Libyans, who initially told the British that all deals were off, said Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, the second-eldest son of Libya's leader, Col. Moammar Gadhafi. The agreement was eventually signed late in the year.
Gadhafi, who was involved in the negotiations for the prisoner release deal, accompanied al Megrahi back to Libya last month after he was freed from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds.
Al Megrahi was released because he suffers from terminal prostate cancer, and Gadhafi said his release was not part of the trade deals.
In an interview with Libyan channel Al Mutawassit on board the plane that carried al Megrahi from Scotland to Tripoli, Libya, on August 21, Gadhafi said that al Megrahi "was always on the negotiating table" during the talks, prompting British officials to flatly deny that his release was predicated on any deal.
Trade with Libya played a "very big part" in Britain's decision to include the Lockerbie bomber in a prisoner transfer deal between the two countries, a senior British minister was quoted as telling a Saturday newspaper.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Justice Secretary Jack Straw said his decision helped improve relations and pave the way for an oil contract signed by British oil major BP Plc.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has repeatedly said trade played no part in Britain's stance on the early release of Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, a move which angered the United States government.
Megrahi, 57, was freed early from a Scottish jail last month on humanitarian grounds because he has prostate cancer and officials said he may have only three months to live.
He was the only person convicted of the bombing of a Pan Am passenger jet over the Scottish town of Lockerbie that killed 270 people in 1988.
Asked whether trade was a factor in his decision to include Megrahi in a prisoner swap deal with Libya, Straw told the newspaper: "Yes ... a very big part of that. I am unapologetic about that. Libya was a rogue state. We wanted to bring it back into the fold. And yes, that included trade because trade is an essential part of it and subsequently there was the BP deal."
The Scottish government, which has devolved powers for justice and other areas, freed Megrahi for compassionate reasons rather than using the prisoner transfer agreement.
However, ministers in London and Edinburgh have faced intense pressure from opposition politicians, the U.S. government and some victims' relatives to explain whether trade played any role in the wider decision to release Megrahi.
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US Attorney General Eric and PM Gordon Brown are "furious and repulsed" by Scotland's decision to release Pan Am bomber Al-Megrahi and return him to Libya. Now everyone knows about the "Deal In The Desert!" or popularly known as "Oil for Al-Megrahi Program!"
The terminally-ill Libyan convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has been moved into the emergency room of a hospital in Tripoli, a Libyan official source told Reuters on Wednesday.
Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was released from prison in Scotland last month on the grounds that he has prostate cancer and does not have long to live. The United States, and opposition parties in Britain, have criticized the decision to release him.
There were no further details on Megrahi's condition. A spokesman for Tripoli Medical Center, the hospital in the Libyan capital where Megrahi has been undergoing treatment for several days, said the patient was too ill to speak to reporters.
"Because of the treatment he is receiving, his immune system is very weak and he cannot speak to anyone today," said Omar Senoussi, head of media relations at the hospital.
Megrahi was the only person convicted over the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 above the Scottish town of Lockerbie, in which 270 people were killed. He received a rapturous welcome when he arrived home in Libya last month.
The British government has also been accused by domestic opponents of backing Megrahi's release in a drive to improve ties with Libya, where British firms are seeking greater access to the North African state's oil and gas reserves.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday rejected the allegations, saying the decision to release the Libyan was made by Scotland's devolved government with no pressure applied from London.
-Scottish Prison Service (SPS) guidelines suggest that inmates are only freed if they have less than three months to live-
The Lockerbie bomber could live far longer than predicted by Scottish ministers when they decided to release him, a cancer expert has warned.
Gordon Brown yesterday broke his silence on the release of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing when he spoke of how he had been "repulsed" by the triumphant scenes that greeted his return to Libya last week.
Dr Richard Simpson said that medical reports show there is “significant doubt” that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi will die within the next three months.
The Labour MSP accused Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice minister, of failing to conduct sufficient checks before deciding to release the terminally-ill bomber last week.
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The UK Prime Minister has been forced to react to the release of al-Megrahi the Lockiebir Bom convict. Repulsed by the Hero reception at Libya
Mr MacAskill the Scottich Justice Secretary releashed Terminally-ill Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi. will explain his actions to MSPs at Holyrood.
Terminally-ill Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.
Alex Salmond, the First Minister, has confirmed that he would resign if the Holyrood vote went against him
The Scottish justice secretary will be forced to defend his decision to release the Lockerbie bomber, as the Scottish Parliament is recalled later.
Opposition parties will demand to know how Kenny MacAskill aims to repair the damage they claimed had been done to Scotland's global reputation.
He has been under huge pressure, after granting early release to terminally-ill Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.
The 57-year-old, who has prostate cancer, returned home to Libya on Thursday to jubilant scenes which included people waving Scottish flags.
Scottish ministers said their decision to release Megrahi on compassionate grounds - which has been strongly criticised by the US government - followed due process and was the right one.
They also insisted he must reveal whether any deals were done "behind the scenes" in relation to the early release, and address claims Megrahi was pressurised into his decision to drop the appeal against his conviction.
Ministers said they understood the upset, but were duty-bound to take the right decision in the eyes of the Scottish legal system. US president Barack Obama and FBI boss Robert Mueller have both hit out at Mr MacAskill's decision.
The Scottish Parliament, which had not been due back in Edinburgh from summer recess until the start of September, has only been recalled on two previous occasions in its 10 year history.
These came following the deaths of former first minister Donald Dewar, in 2000, and the Queen Mother, in 2002.
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Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill announces the release of the Lockerbie bomber
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Huge crowds in Libya have welcomed Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bombing convict freed from a Scottish prison. The US, whose nationals accounted for the majority of the 270 that perished in the bombing, has called the decision to free al-Megrahi a "mistake".
Al-Megrahi is the only man to be convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988, which blew up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. He is now dying of cancer, but for many of his victims' families, his release on compassionate grounds is a travesty of justice.
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Abdelbaset al-Megrahi has boarded a plane to go home to Libya after being freed by the Scottish justice secretary
