LIB DEMS LOCKERBIE ATTACK UNDERMINED BY OWN POLITICIANS.

LIB DEMS LOCKERBIE ATTACK UNDERMINED BY OWN POLITICIANS.

LIB DEM MSP ENDORSES MACASKILL’S DECISION,

Attacks by the Scottish Liberal Democrats on SNP Justice Secretary have been undermined by one of their own MSPs and former senior Liberal Democrat and Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament Lord David Steel.

Speaking on Radio Four this morning Lord Steel said:

"I don’t necessarily think he made the wrong decision, I mean it was quite clearly made on compassionate grounds. It wasn’t made as part of a prisoner deal; it wasn’t made as part of a trade agreement, and I think people should focus on that and I think most opinion in Scotland therefore is in favour of the decision to release him on compassionate grounds.”

Liberal Democrat MSP John Farquhar Munro, who did not attend the statement in the Scottish Parliament today said in an interview on BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal:

I’m of the opinion that Mr MacAskill had no other choice but the one he made. It was obvious from the doctors that Megrahi is suffering with cancer and that Megrahi’s health was going down every day and with that the correct thing happened and that MacAskill let Megrahi go with the information he had."

SNP MSP and fellow Highlands and Islands MSP Rob Gibson said;

“The comments from Lord Steel and John Farquhar Munro will be deeply embarrassing for the Lib Dem leadership in the Scottish Parliament.

“Lord Steel and John Farquhar Munro have made clear today that despite the mutterings of Tavish Scott in the Scottish Parliament there is support for Kenny MacAskill’s decision across all parties.

“In their comments they have recognised what Tavish Scott and Nicol Stephen failed to do – that proper processes were followed and that the decision was made on judicial grounds and nothing else.

“In contrast to Tavish Scott’s determination to talk down Scottish justice the comments from both Lord Steel and John Farquhar Munro put this decision in the proper context – that of Scots law and the principle of compassion.

“Once again Mr Scott has shown he has much to learn from those who have been in politics for longer than him.”

The full John Farquhar Munro interview (translated) is below

Interviewer- One of the MSPs who won’t be at the debate in the Scottish Parliament today is the Highland Lib-dem MSP John Farquhar Munro who has decided not to go and puts his ‘full’ support behind the decision of Kenny MacAskill.

JFM – Well I’m not going to make out that it will make much difference at all to what happens if every MSP in Scotland attended parliament today and with that I’m not going and I’m sure there are plenty of MSPs with the same thoughts as I have.

Interviewer – But this is a very important topic. Don’t you have a duty to be there to get your own opinion across.

JFM – Well, as I said, even if we were all in the chamber it would not change events as they have happened.

Interviewer – Do you give your support to the decision Kenny MacAskill made?

JFM – Yes indeed. I’m of the opinion that Mr MacAskill had no other choice but the one he made. It was obvious from the doctors that Megrahi is suffering with cancer and that Megrahi’s health was going down every day and with that the correct thing happened and that MacAskill let Megrahi go with the information he had.

Interviewer – Jack McConnell, the former First Minister of Scotland, says that Mr MacAskill did harm to the reputation of Scotland, do you agree with that?

JFM – I don’t. I believe that MacAskill did the thing that was right and the thing that people will be looking on for years to come and that every time they raise the question of how well MacAskill did because of the rules and laws of Scotland.

Interviewer – What about the Americans? It is very obvious that many people are very angry about the way in which the Scottish Government have dealt with Megrahi.

JFM – Well there are a few who are complaining about what has happened but although they are complaining that doesn’t worry me too much and I’m sure that Mr MacAskill isn’t worried either.

Interviewer – Didn’t Mr MacAskill have a duty to tell the MSP that Megrahi was going to be freed before he made the official announcement?

JFM – What good would that have done? If he had told every member of the parliament what he was going to do. That wouldn’t have made any difference at all to what happened. I don’t agree with that point and it wouldn’t have made any difference. The right thing happened and MacAskill made the right and correct decision. With that it doesn’t give me any troubles whatsoever that there are some who are complaining.