Furore over Lockerbie bomber release

The Scottish Herald headlines with the release of Abdelbasset al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, who was welcomed by thousands of Libyans waving Scottish flags thursday August 20. Despite the debate in many British dailies on whether his release from a Scottish prison on 'compassionate grounds' was justified, the Scottish daily's news special focused on the fact that there is "little chance for a fresh airing on new evidence". Many of the British victims' families believe that the whole truth has not emerged and that Al-Megrahi's appeal process should have continued. The paper signals that in Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill speech "was [an] attack on the 'deal in the dessert' when Tony Blair signed the prisoner transfer deal with Colonel Gadafi two years ago". He also said it was "regrettable" that London counterparts had not addressed Altantic issues earlier, which highlights the ongoing tension between the British government and the devolved Scottish Parliament in this case.