For years, we’ve heard the left condemn western military action in the Middle East as “blood for oil”. Now it appears that we’re seeing the left – in the form of Britain’s Labour government – cutting a deal for just that.
There have been very unpleasant rumors since the release of convicted Lockerbie bomber al-Megrahi that his release by the Scots was actually part of a larger oil exploration deal between Libya and the British government. And now it appears that the UK Times has found the smoking gun in the form of letters between Jack Straw and Kenny MacAskill.
The detailed correspondence seen by The Sunday Times confirms that the Lockerbie bomber’s fate was regarded by the UK government as pivotal to relations with Libya. It also shows how anxious the government was to curry favour with Colonel Muammar Gadaffi by being seen to open the way for Megrahi’s release.
It appears that negotiations with Libya on behalf of British Petroleum began under Tony Blair and while the Libyans linked a deal to release of Libyan prisoners, Jack Straw initially tried to demur on the radioactive subject of al-Megrahi. The Libyans, however, insisted on his release as part of any oil exploration deal.
Straw, appointed justice secretary by Brown, set out his favoured option for excluding Megrahi in another letter the following month.
The Libyans were furious and the BP deal — in which £545m would be spent on exploration alone — was an ace in their hand.
“Nobody doubted that Libya wanted BP and BP was confident its commitment would go through,” said Sir Richard Dalton, a former British ambassador to Libya and a director of the Libyan British Business Council. “But the timing of the final authority to spend real money on the ground was dependent on politics.”
The Libyans insisted that Megrahi must be covered by the prisoner transfer agreement. The government relented and Straw was forced into a U-turn. “I have not been able to secure an explicit exclusion,” he wrote in a letter to Kenny MacAskill, his Scottish counterpart.
“The wider negotiations with the Libyans are reaching a critical stage and in view of the overwhelming interests for the United Kingdom, I have agreed in this instance the [prisoner transfer agreement] should be in the standard form and not mention any individual.”
Six weeks later BP announced its deal had been ratified.
Needless to say, this revelation could prove to be the final undoing of Gordon Brown’s government and Megrahi’s triumphant return to Tripoli and his embrace by the estimable Colonel Gadaffi have already poisoned Gadaffi’s rehabilitation by respectable society.
More commentary by Powerline, Ace of Spades, and Ed Morrissey.
Update: The UK Times continues with the story in today’s edition, sharpening its aim for Gordon Brown and his minions:
The British government decided it was “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom” to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, eligible for return to Libya, leaked ministerial letters reveal.
Gordon Brown’s government made the decision after discussions between Libya and BP over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards.
Related posts:
Twitter
Facebook
RSS
LinkedIn