When I saw this article I thought of the other thread about the Russian spy swap. Apparently in the case of the Lockerbie bomber there might have been more going on. BP lobbied U.K. ahead of Lockerbie bomber release Firm pushed for prisoner transfer deal, but says it didn't argue for Megrahi's freedom LONDON — BP said Thursday that it had lobbied the British government over a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya in late 2007 before the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi. The oil giant said it was concerned a slow resolution would impact an offshore drilling deal with Libya, but insisted it was not involved in discussions regarding al-Megrahi's actual release in August 2009. "It is a matter of public record that in late 2007, BP told the U.K. government that we were concerned about the slow progress that was being made in concluding a Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Libya," BP said in a statement Thursday. "We were aware that this could have a negative impact on U.K. commercial interests, including the ratification by the Libyan government of BP's exploration agreement." BP signed a $900 million exploration agreement with Libya in May 2007, the same month that Britain and Libya inked a memorandum of understanding that paved the way for al-Megrahi's release from a Scottish prison. Megrahi was the only person convicted over the 1988 bombing of a U.S. airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people. He was released on compassionate grounds after doctors said the 57-year-old Libyan was close to death. Nearly a year later, Megrahi is still alive. BP insisted Thursday that it was not involved in the decision to free the bomber. Al-Megrahi's release outraged many relatives of the victims and led to calls in the U.S. for a boycott of Scottish goods. "The decision to release al-Megrahi in August 2009 was taken by the Scottish government," the company said. "It is not for BP to comment on the decision of the Scottish government. BP was not involved in any such discussions with the U.K. government or the Scottish government about the release of al-Megrahi." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday she would look into a request by four U.S. lawmakers that the State Department investigate whether BP had a hand in the release, after they wrote to her. "I have received the letter and we will obviously look into it," Clinton said in response to a reporter's question, referring to the letter from Democratic Senators Robert Menendez, Frank Lautenberg, Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer. 'Profit ahead of people' Menendez and Lautenberg represent New Jersey and Gillibrand and Schumer represent New York. People from both states were among those who died in the Lockerbie bombing. The four Democrats wrote they were concerned BP may have put profits ahead of justice in the al-Megrahi case, given the petroleum giant's current handling of the Gulf oil spill. "Evidence in the Deepwater Horizon disaster seems to suggest that BP would put profit ahead of people — its attention to safety was negligible and it routinely underestimated the amount of oil gushing into the Gulf," they said. "The question we now have to answer is, was this corporation willing to trade justice in the murder of 270 innocent people for oil profits?" The aim of the investigation, they wrote, was to "fully determine the legitimacy of the decision to release this mass murderer and to fully understand the source of revenue streams for this corporation, which owes American taxpayers and coastal families billions of dollars." Gillibrand told NBC’s TODAY on Thursday that the U.K. government, which she described as a "very good" ally, should look into BP's alleged involvement in al-Megrahi’s release. "We would like them like them to do a further investigation in light of the fact this terrorist is still alive," she said. "We want a moratorium on the drilling [by BP] off Libya's coast. We believe BP should not be allowed to drill until we have resolution of this." However Steve Field, a spokesman for U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron’s office, said there was “no link between the Scottish executive’s decision to release Megrahi” and BP, news service Bloomberg reports. BP told msnbc.com Thursday that it planned to press ahead with drilling off the Libyan coast. "The rig is on location. It is being made ready and going through final tests," spokesman Robert Wiine said. "We are planning to start drilling within the next few weeks," he added.
