WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - A U.S. senator has asked that a Scottish representative appear at next week's congressional hearing on the release of the Libyan man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
Two Scottish officials have declined to appear before the the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is examining circumstances of Scotland's decision last year to release Libyan intelligence officer Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, convicted of bombing a U.S. airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland.
The committee hearing scheduled for July 29 also is looking into whether British energy giant BP Plc influenced the bomber's release.
In a letter sent on Friday to Alex Salmond, the first minister of Scotland, Senator Frank Lautenberg said he was 'pleading for direct representation from the Scottish government' at the hearing 'to help us seek answers.'
'Your cooperation in sending a knowledgeable person will help establish a credible record of what transpired,' wrote Lautenberg, a Democrat from New Jersey, which was home to a number of the bombing victims.
'We are also witnessing the U.K. government claiming the release was entirely the decision of the Scottish government and vice versa,' Lautenberg said.
'Those who commit vicious acts of terrorism have to know that they will be punished without compassion. Your government's participation in our hearing will help send that message,' he concluded.
The hearing will examine whether BP's business interests influenced the 2009 release of the only person convicted in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 that killed 270 people, most of them Americans.
BP has denied it pushed Scottish authorities to release Megrahi in 2009, and Scottish authorities have also denied there was any such contact with BP.
Questions about a possible BP role in the bomber's release have complicated U.S.-British relations already frayed by the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Britain's former justice secretary, Jack Straw, has declined an invitation to testify. BP has not said whether its chief executive Tony Hayward or adviser Mark Allen will accept invitations to testify.
British Prime Minister David Cameron stressed this week during a visit to Washington for talks with President Barack Obama that the release was decided by Scottish authorities, and that he thought it was the wrong decision.
Scottish officials previously sent a letter saying Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill and Andrew Fraser, health director for Scottish prisons, would not appear before the committee.
The Scottish government said in a statement that it had yet to receive Lautenberg's letter, but reiterated it had already declined an invitation for two officials to attend.
However, it said it had been sent a separate letter by U.S. Senator Robert Menendez asking Scottish authorities to provide a range of documents relating to the case.
It said it had already published all the documents requested, except for some correspondence between the Scottish and U.S. governments where permission for publication had been so far denied.
'We would urge the senator and his colleagues to work with their own government so that the remaining information we hold can be published in the interests of maximum transparency,' the Scottish government said.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell and James Vicini; editing by Mohammad Zargham) Keywords: BRITAIN USA/LOCKERBIE (susan.cornwell@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202-898-8300; Reuters Messaging: susan.cornwell.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Two Scottish officials have declined to appear before the the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is examining circumstances of Scotland's decision last year to release Libyan intelligence officer Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, convicted of bombing a U.S. airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland.
The committee hearing scheduled for July 29 also is looking into whether British energy giant BP Plc influenced the bomber's release.
In a letter sent on Friday to Alex Salmond, the first minister of Scotland, Senator Frank Lautenberg said he was 'pleading for direct representation from the Scottish government' at the hearing 'to help us seek answers.'
'Your cooperation in sending a knowledgeable person will help establish a credible record of what transpired,' wrote Lautenberg, a Democrat from New Jersey, which was home to a number of the bombing victims.
'We are also witnessing the U.K. government claiming the release was entirely the decision of the Scottish government and vice versa,' Lautenberg said.
'Those who commit vicious acts of terrorism have to know that they will be punished without compassion. Your government's participation in our hearing will help send that message,' he concluded.
The hearing will examine whether BP's business interests influenced the 2009 release of the only person convicted in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 that killed 270 people, most of them Americans.
BP has denied it pushed Scottish authorities to release Megrahi in 2009, and Scottish authorities have also denied there was any such contact with BP.
Questions about a possible BP role in the bomber's release have complicated U.S.-British relations already frayed by the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Britain's former justice secretary, Jack Straw, has declined an invitation to testify. BP has not said whether its chief executive Tony Hayward or adviser Mark Allen will accept invitations to testify.
British Prime Minister David Cameron stressed this week during a visit to Washington for talks with President Barack Obama that the release was decided by Scottish authorities, and that he thought it was the wrong decision.
Scottish officials previously sent a letter saying Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill and Andrew Fraser, health director for Scottish prisons, would not appear before the committee.
The Scottish government said in a statement that it had yet to receive Lautenberg's letter, but reiterated it had already declined an invitation for two officials to attend.
However, it said it had been sent a separate letter by U.S. Senator Robert Menendez asking Scottish authorities to provide a range of documents relating to the case.
It said it had already published all the documents requested, except for some correspondence between the Scottish and U.S. governments where permission for publication had been so far denied.
'We would urge the senator and his colleagues to work with their own government so that the remaining information we hold can be published in the interests of maximum transparency,' the Scottish government said.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell and James Vicini; editing by Mohammad Zargham) Keywords: BRITAIN USA/LOCKERBIE (susan.cornwell@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202-898-8300; Reuters Messaging: susan.cornwell.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.