Scottish Leader Defends Release

But Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond told BBC Radio that it was wrong to assume that all those affected by the bombing were opposed to al-Megrahi’s release.

”I understand the huge and strongly held views of the American families, but that’s not all the families who were affected by Lockerbie,”
Salmond said.
”As you’re well aware, a number of the families, particularly in the U.K., take a different view and think that we made the right decision.”
—
”No one I think seriously believes we made any other decision except for the right reasons,”
Salmond said.
”I think it was the right decision. I also absolutely know it was for the right reasons.”

The British and Scottish governments have denied that they struck a deal with Libya to free the Lockerbie bomber in return for greater access to the country’s oil and gas.