London, August 22: Britain’s Foreign Office denied Friday allegations that the release of Libyan Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi was linked to trade deals with Tripoli.
Seif al-Islam, the son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, said in an interview that Megrahi’s release was linked to Britain’s interest in Libya’s oil and gas reserves.
But a spokesman for the Foreign Office denied the claims.
“There is no deal,” the spokesman told AFP.
“All decisions relating to Megrahi’s case have been exclusively for Scottish ministers, the Crown Office in Scotland and the Scottish judicial authorities.
“No deal has been made between the UK government and Libya in relation to Megrahi and any commercial interests in the country.”
Foreign Secretary David Miliband earlier angrily refuted suggestions that the British government wanted Megrahi freed so that commercial relations with oil-rich Libya could be improved.
“I really reject that entirely,” he said. “That is a slur both on myself and the government.”
–Agencies