The tabloids here in Scotland are full of it.

This story:

… On August 20th Scotland’s justice secretary freed Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, convicted of the worst terrorist atrocity in British history, the 1988 Lockerbie bombing in which 270 people (189 of them Americans) were killed. Mr Megrahi is dying of cancer and Scottish law permits release on compassionate grounds. To Mr MacAskill’s surprise, it seems, all hell broke loose. …

Recall that everyone on the flight died. And 11 people in Lockerbie, Scotland killed when the plane wreckage fell on top of them.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was found guilty though to this day he has been steadfast in denying the charges.

… served just over 8½ years of his life sentence, was escorted by Strathclyde Police to Glasgow Airport where he boarded a specially chartered Afriqiyah Airways Airbus for Tripoli, Libya. Megrahi arrived back in time to join celebrations to mark 40 years since the country’s revolution. …

Innocent or guilty. Right or wrong. This was a big political mistake.

For Prime Minister Gordon Brown, though it was not his decision to release the man, this plays BAD, BAD, BAD.

Economist says this horribly unpopular decision may be part of ongoing secret deals between the U.K. and Libya.