In UK, doubts about Lockerbie bomber's health prognosis

A Scottish opposition politician who also happens to be a physician specializing in the treatment of cancer, says that medical information provided to support the "compassionate release" by the Scottish government of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi does not in fact confirm that he has around three months to live.

Dr. Richard Simpson, a member of the Scottish Parliament, said that based on records provided, there is "significant doubt" about Mr. Megrahi's prognosis. Libyan intelligence agent Megrahi, convicted of murdering 270 people in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103, was released after eight years in a Scottish prison so that he could have the comfort of being with friends and family in Libya in his final months. Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill justified the decision based on what he said was strong medical evidence that Megrahi has about three months to live and is dying of prostate cancer.

Dr Simpson, who specialised in prostate disease research, said: “It is clear to me from the medical reports and the opinion of the specialists that Megrahi could live for many more months. "Kenny MacAskill released him apparently on the advice of just one doctor whose status is not clear and who is not named.” Dr Simpson, a former member of the British Association of Urological Surgeons' prostate cancer working group, said the minister should have sought a second opinion from a specialist in palliative care.

As we reported yesterday, family members of victims in the US (most of those killed in the attack were from the US) say that neither they, nor the US government, have been provided full medical information that would allow them to determine if Megrahi is in fact as sick as they've been told.

The joyous celebration of his return home has stirred anger not just among the families, but among some American politicians, who are seeking ways to restrict the Libyan dictator's movements when he attends the UN's General Assembly in New York in March, his first visit to the US since the coup that brought him to power 40 years ago.

Meanwhile, the police in Scotland cast doubt on MacAskill's claim that one of the reasons the notion of allowing Megrahi to receive hospice care in Scotland was dismissed was because it would have posed a "severe" security risk. The Times of London reports that local police were never asked for their opinion on whether they could provide necessary protection by MacAskill.

In the Strathclyde Police statement, a spokeswoman said: “If a decision had been made to release Mr. al-Megrahi in Scotland, we would have provided whatever security was required. We were asked how many officers would be required, and we provided that advice. We were asked how many it would take in our opinion, in terms of guidance. We were not asked whether we could do this.”

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