British prime minister slams Lockerbie bomber release

LONDON - Prime Minister David Cameron criticized the Scottish government's decision to free Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi from jail last year, saying yesterday that the move had been "completely and utterly wrong."

Cameron told the BBC he had opposed the decision in August to return the cancer-stricken prisoner to Libya on compassionate grounds.

He spoke before leaving today for his first visit as British leader to the United States, where he is expected to face questioning about the case. Cameron took office in May, after an inconclusive election that resulted in his Conservative Party's forming a coalition government that ousted the previous Labour Party administration.

"As leader of opposition, I couldn't have been more clear that I thought the decision to release al-Megrahi was completely and utterly wrong," Cameron said.

The decision was made by Scotland's government, which holds limited powers within the United Kingdom, and not by the previous British government headed by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Al-Megrahi served eight years of a life sentence for the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people on board, most of them Americans, and 11 people on the ground.

Relatives of crash victims said Cameron's words must be backed by actions to have any real meaning.

Bert Ammerman of River Vale, N.J., who lost his brother Tom in the crash, called for investigations in Britain and the United States into the circumstances of the release.

"There has to be an investigation done on how this took place, and heads have to roll," he said.

Glenn Johnson of Greensburg, Pa., whose daughter Beth Ann died in the crash, said Cameron's words offered little comfort. "For the prime minister to come forward and say it was a mistake, that's just politics," he said.

Two New York senators, who have called for an inquiry into oil giant BP's lobbying of the British government over a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya, reacted positively to the comments.

They suspect the lobbying may have bearing on the case.

"This admission is a first step in getting to the bottom of what could well be a quid pro quo for an oil contract," Sen. Charles Schumer said.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said she respected the comments, but "we need further review of how and why al-Megrahi was released, so we can learn from this mistake and assess what steps can be taken so that justice is served and terrorists are held accountable."

The two New York senators and two from New Jersey have been invited to the British ambassador's residence in Washington to speak with Cameron Tuesday night.

Cameron's Downing Street office said a British-government commissioned inquiry was "not currently under consideration." "I have no idea what BP did, I am not responsible for BP," Cameron said. But he insisted that discussions between BP and Brown's administration on a prisoner transfer agreement did not include talks on al-Megrahi.

Al-Megrahi served eight years of a life sentence for the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people on board, most of them Americans, and 11 people on the ground.

Britain's growing diplomatic and business ties with Libya had been under intense scrutiny since al-Megrahi's release.

Oil giant BP has acknowledged it had urged the British government to sign a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya, but stressed it didn't specifically discuss al-Megrahi's case.