Did BP, Or Did BP Not, Lobby For Release Of Lockerbie Bomber?

Why Was The Lockerbie Bomber Released From Jail?

Whilst still mired in the problems associated with the massive oil leak from its well in the Gulf of Mexico, BP has to cope with another serious issue unrelated to the leak. The issue is whether BP did or did not lobby for the release of Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the Libyan jailed in a Scottish prison for planting the bomb on the aircraft that blew up in Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 270 people, 189 of whom were Americans. Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi was released in August last year by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds after he was declared to have less than 3 months to live because of terminal prostate cancer. However, that prognosis has turned out to be a great underestimate, so the grounds for Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi’s release have been criticised.

Calls For Investigation Into BP’s Alleged Role In Release Of Locker Bomber

Four Democratic US senators called for an investigation into whether BP helped to secure the release of Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi. In a letter to the Senate foreign relations committee, Frank Lautenberg, Democrat senator for New Jersey wrote, “It is shocking to even contemplate that BP is profiting from the release of a terrorist with the blood of 189 Americans on his hands”. Hilary Clinton, US Secretary of State, has pledged to push for investigations into these allegations, and John Kerry, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee has announced that special hearings on the release of Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi will be held at Capitol Hill on July 29. John Kerry said, “I opposed Megrahi’s release on medical grounds last year as a travesty and the details that have emerged in recent days in the press have raised new concerns”.

BP’s Response To Allegations That It Lobbied For Release Of Lockerbie Bomber

BP has said that it is well known that it had expressed its concerns to the UK government about the slow speed of Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi’s release but that it had not expressed any view on any terms or made representations to the UK or Scottish government about the release. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has assured Hilary Clinton that there is no evidence that BP was involved in the release of Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi.

However, BP has admitted lobbying the British government in 2007 over a Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) with Libya. BP said that it was aware that slow progress in concluding the PTA “could have a negative impact on UK commercial interests, including the ratification by the Libyan government of BP’s exploration agreement”. BP has said that Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi’s name was not raised in its talks with government officials, but Jack Straw, Justice Secretary in the former Labour government, said that Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi was included in the PTA. This PTA was signed by the former Labour government in 2007, the year that BP sealed a $900m exploration agreement with Libya.

UK Prime Minister’s Response To Allegations Of BP’s Role In Release Of Lockerbie Bomber

When present UK Prime Minister David Cameron met US President Barack Obama on July 24 during his first visit to the White House, the allegations against BP was one of the main topics of conversation. David Cameron called Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi the “biggest mass murderer” in British history and said that his release was a mistake. But David Cameron would not open a new investigation into the release. “I don’t need an inquiry to tell me what was a bad decision”, he said. However, David Cameron would ask government officials to comb their records to see whether any further information needed to be released.

Think About It

What kinds of deals do governments make with each other to secure trade benefits? How often might deals that lead to profit for one party involve injustice to a part of the population? Is money more important than human life? How can such deals be monitored, instead of waiting to investigate them after the event?

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