That mass murdering scumbag doesn't deserve compassion.

Blair, 'blood money' and a Lockerbie deal: Talks with Gaddafi hours before BP agreement

Tony Blair has been accused of agreeing a 'blood money' deal involving the Lockerbie bomber with Colonel Gaddafi just hours before BP unveiled a £500million oil contract.

The then Prime Minister laid the foundations for the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi during a meeting with the Libyan leader in a desert tent two years ago.

The pair thrashed out a controversial prisoner transfer deal just before BP chairman Peter Sutherland announced the firm was investing $900million - about £545million - to search for oil in Libya. If the firm strikes rich, it could be worth £13billion.

Bias alert. I am NOT an SNP fan. I consider myself a Scot more than anything else having lived here for over three quarters of my life, since I was 12.

I caught the long excerpt of the end of his announcement on 'Today' on Radio 4 yesterday evening and it struck me as a very measured, balanced, thoughtful speech and judgment that if you have not heard is actually very important to hear to understand his decision. I was between ambivalent to 'let him rot' before but hearing that made me clear it was the right decision for the right reasons.

That the Americans were pissed off came as no surprise. They come at things from a different angle and that's fine and their right. But I do find some of their reaction rather over the top and I very much doubt it came having heard the ministers announcement and thought about what he was saying. They are also plainly not aware enough that Scots law has always been distinct from English/UK law which was the reason Megahi was tried by Scottish judges, if in a court in Holland and not 'UK' judges, even though devolution had not happened then. Also that in the end this is a decision made by a politician but not a political decision being bound by the law and one of the things that was clear in the excerpt of the speech was that was exactly how the minister handled it. And absolutely rightly so.

Richard.