Lockerbie

Convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, has been freed to return home to Libya.

The government said it had consulted widely before Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill made his decision on applications for Megrahi's compassionate release or his transfer to a Libyan jail. He told a media conference on Thursday that he had rejected the application for a prisoner transfer.

However, after taking medical advice it was expected that three months was a "reasonable estimate" of the time Megrahi had left to live.

I agree with US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, that Megrahi should not have been released on compassionate grounds; after all how much compassion was shown to the victims of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103? However, I have to say that I applaud Mr MacAskill, for not bowing to overwhelming pressure and instead dealing with the case just as he would any other case. I think he made the wrong decision, but he stood firm and after considering all pertinent information he made the decision he did. He even gave the UK government an opportunity to make representations but they declined; "They saw no legal barrier to transfer and that they gave no assurances to the US government at the time."

I find it extremely distasteful that a man convicted of killing 270 innocent people is shown compassion and released so that he may go home and die a free man. Especially, considering the almost heroic welcome he was afforded upon his arrival in Tripoli.

I have no problem with the idea of showing compassion to convicted criminals but I think that somebody who has been convicted of maliciously setting out, and succeeding, to kill others should not be afforded compassion.

A government that is supposedly tough on crime allows a man sentenced to life imprisonment; with a recommended minimum term of 27 years, to go free after only 8 years because he is dying. A number of countries around the world consider the term 'life' to mean just that.