As British Prime Minister Gordon Brown continued to deny striking any deals with Libya in exchange for Scotland's release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber, the Scottish government lost a parliamentary vote on a motion to support the decision. AFP - Britain denied Wednesday any "double-dealing" with oil-rich Libya over the release of the Lockerbie bomber but admitted it had not wanted the former Libyan agent to die in a Scottish prison. Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisted the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi was entirely a matter for the Scottish government, which freed him on compassionate grounds last month because he is dying of cancer. "There was no conspiracy, no cover-up, no double-dealing, no deal on oil, no attempt to influence Scottish ministers, no private assurances by me to Colonel Kadhafi," he said. A Libyan minister backed Brown late Wednesday, saying there was "nothing to hide" and no deals were done over efforts to secure the release of Megrahi.
AFP - Britain denied Wednesday any "double-dealing" with oil-rich Libya over the release of the Lockerbie bomber but admitted it had not wanted the former Libyan agent to die in a Scottish prison. Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisted the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi was entirely a matter for the Scottish government, which freed him on compassionate grounds last month because he is dying of cancer. "There was no conspiracy, no cover-up, no double-dealing, no deal on oil, no attempt to influence Scottish ministers, no private assurances by me to Colonel Kadhafi," he said. A Libyan minister backed Brown late Wednesday, saying there was "nothing to hide" and no deals were done over efforts to secure the release of Megrahi.
