Commenting ahead of the first anniversary of the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Liberal Democrat Justice spokesperson Robert Brown MSP said:
 
“Liberal Democrats remain highly critical of the process that led to Kenny MacAskill’s decision to release the Lockerbie bomber. 
 
“The ill-starred visit to Mr. Al Megrahi in Greenock Prison was particularly unfortunate. As we said at the time it set a highly unfortunate precedent and led to the impression, whether correct or not, that the SNP Government did a deal involving the abandonment of the appeal.
 
“My personal view was that the decision to release Mr. Megrahi was also the wrong call by Kenny MacAskill. If the person convicted of the worst atrocity in modern Scottish history is to be released, it is difficult to see who could be refused such release in the future. Compassion is absolutely required but not at all costs - the decision did not give sufficient weight to the interests of justice and the rights of the relatives.
 
“The release of the Lockerbie bomber was an incredibly sensitive subject and the Justice Secretary did not handle it well - with the exception of the decision to reject the application under the Prisoner Transfer Agreement which was sensible and avoided a lot of other problems.
 
“But, whether right or wrong, well done or badly done, the release decision was one solely for the Scottish Justice Secretary who is accountable to the Scottish Parliament.  Liberal Democrats are four square behind the Scottish Government in its refusal to send Scottish Ministers to Washington to account to the US Senate investigation. Neither Scottish Ministers nor indeed UK Ministers are accountable to a foreign Government or Congress. On such a matter, our Government is entitled to expect and to get support from the Opposition Parties.
 
“Political point scoring by Labour and the Conservatives is now dominating the anniversary of Al Megrahi’s release, serving little purpose and sidelining the relatives of those killed in this atrocity.
 
“We should instead be marking this anniversary with renewed support for those directly affected by the Lockerbie bombing.  Some families have voiced their disappointment that the abandonment of the appeal meant the loss of opportunity to see the issues raised by the SCCRC properly tested by the courts.  Scottish Ministers should offer to meet with the families to discuss how they can help take this issue forward.”