MacKaskill : a man out of his depth
The decision to release the convicted Libyan bomber was botched from start to end. Lets ignore for a moment the unelected Business Secretary’s involvement in the process.
1. Why did MacKaskill – the Scottish Justice Secretary – feel the need to MEET the convicted bomber ? There was no need. Representations could and should have been made in writing without the need to actually go and have a chat with the man.
2. Why did the bomber drop his appeal immediately following that meeting ? What was said at that meeting that led to that extraordinary decision? Under Scots law, dropping an appeal is not a necessary precondition of compassionate release.
3. Why was the decision released to the media BEFORE the relatives of the victims or the Scottish parliament were told?
All round this was handled about as ineptly as it could have been. Why? My suspicion is because it did involve business deals with Libya, pressure from the Business Secretary and the Prime Minister, and the desire for the appeal not to be heard (quite possibly where failings in the original trial would be highlighted). That led to hurried and poor decisions being made. Overall, I am afraid this speaks of (yet another) senior official,when really tested, just not being up to the job.
The Scottish parliament meet this afternoon in an emergency session. I doubt that anything satisfactory will come out of the emergency debate. But will watch with interest.
I hope that the Lib Dems will continue to put pressure on the Prime Minister to be questioned on this. Why parliament is in recess for so long – when important issues of state go unexamined and unexplained – is beyond me.
Tags: Gordon Brown, Libya, Mackaskill