Lockerbie bomber’s release was a case of "poor judgement"

Sep 8 2009 by Les Stewart, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

THE decision by the Scottish Government to release convicted bomber Abdelbasset al Megrahi was branded by local Labour candidate Jamie Glackin yesterday as “inept.”

And he claimed there was “every possibility” Perthshire business could suffer.

“The outrage of the American victims of this atrocity could lead to boycotts of Scottish products, notably Scotch whisky and tourism, which is bad news for this constituency,” stated Mr Glackin.

The Labour candidate for Perth and North Perthshire also called into question the position of the sitting MP, Pete Wishart, on the Scottish Government's release of Al Megrahi.

He said: “Pete Wishart's response to everything seems to be to have a public meeting.

“Hopefully he will call one where he can explain to the Perthshire voters how the SNP will repair the damage Scotland has suffered thanks to the inept decision of the Scottish Government on releasing the convicted murderer of 270 people.”

He added: “Let’s be clear on this. The decision made by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill was purely political.

“Rather than adopt the other options open to them, the SNP administration chose to make a political point by making the decision that would court the most publicity.

“Unfortunately, this has backfired on them. Many people are rightly outraged by this and they see this as a continuation of the lax attitude that the SNP seem to have when it comes to law and justice.”

Mr Glackin said that Mr Wishart, as the Constitutional Affairs spokesman for the SNP, had a role to play in this outrage.

“His statements on the BBC show that he has a total lack of understanding of the consequences of this decision and its potential impact on Perthshire.

“Rather than focus on justice for the families impacted by this atrocity, he has chosen to promote the so-called compassion of the Scottish Government. He is defending the indefensible.”