UK envoy to US says release of Lockerbie bomber was a mistake

Britain’s ambassador to the United States, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, has admitted that freeing Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset Al-Megrahi from Scottish prison last year was a major mistake.

Sheinwald’s admission in Washington follows a furor whipped up over Al-Megrahi’s release amid revelations that BP got a major oil deal coincident with Megrahi’s release, and that a doctor involved said the terrorist convicted of killing 270 people in 1988 Pan Am bombing could live for a decade.

He was released on “compassionate” grounds that he had just three months to live. He’s been free for 11.

Sheinwald said there’s no way to fix it. He also insists that BP’s 900 million dollar deal to drill off Libya had nothing to do with Megrahi’s freedom, even though it lobbied for Libyan prsioners to be released from Britain.