LONDON, September 2 (RIA Novosti) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday said his country did not sign any secret deals with Libya for the release of the man convicted of organizing the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing.
Abdel Basset Mohamed al-Megrahi was convicted and sentenced to 27 years in prison in 2001 over the bombing of a plane over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988, in which 259 people on board and 11 on the ground died.
"There was no conspiracy, no cover-up, no double dealing, no deal on oil, no attempt to instruct Scottish ministers, no private assurances by me to [Libyan leader] Colonel Gaddafi," Brown said during a press conference in Birmingham.
Al-Megrahi's recent prison release and hero's welcome in Libya sparked global controversy. He has been hospitalized in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, has prostate cancer, and is believed to have only days to live.
In April, Britain and Libya signed an agreement on an exchange of prisoners, and in May, Libyan authorities officially requested the transfer of 57-year-old al-Megrahi to Libya on compassionate grounds.
Libya accepted responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing in 2005 and said it would pay around $2.7 billion in compensation to the families of those who died, including 170 Americans. The move led to the lifting of sanctions against Libya and was instrumental in the restoration of ties between the North African state and the West.
