The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee has postponed its hearing on the events that led to the release of the Lockerbie bomber from a jail in Scotland after key British and Scottish officials declined to attend the hearing, a U.S. Senator announced on Tuesday.
Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, who was to chair the hearing, flayed former British Justice Secretary Jack Straw, his Scottish counterpart Kenny MacAskill, Scottish Prison Service's medical chief Andrew Fraser and top BP executive Tony Hayward for declining to attend the hearing.
"They have stonewalled," the New Jersey senator told a press conference. "We are at a place where no witnesses of consequence has the courage to step forward and clear the air. They would prefer to sweep this under the rug.
"Each side has claimed innocence, each side has blamed the other," Menendez said. "It is a game of diplomatic tennis that is worthy of Wimbledon, but not worthy on behalf of the lives of the families who still have to deal with this terrorist act and the consequences of the loss of loved ones in their lives."
The Committee hearing on the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was originally scheduled to be held this Thursday. It was called after speculation about the alleged involvement of energy giant British Petroleum (BP) in the release of Megrahi triggered a public outrage in the United States.
Menendez said on Tuesday that the hearing would now be "postponed and rescheduled," adding that it would be coupled with a formal investigations into events that led to Megrahi's release. He also suggested that those who declined to attend the hearing had something to hide.
"In the case of BP, it is hard to imagine that a company on such thin ice with the American people, after devastating our Gulf Coast, would not fully co-operate in getting to the bottom of the release of a terrorist who murdered 189 Americans," he added.
Insisting that he has not given up on the efforts to summon BP executive Tony Hayward to the hearing, Menendez stressed that "there can be enough pressure generated" to get him before the Committee. He also warned BP that he would not hesitate to take its "sickening corporate irresponsibility into account whenever I look at future issues involving BP's US operations."
Earlier, the Senate Committee had written to the Scottish government inviting MacAskill and Fraser to attend the hearing. However the Scottish government declined the invitation.
In addition to the two Scottish officials, the Senate Committee also invited Jack Straw and BP chief executive Tony Hayward to attend the hearing to answer questions. They too declined the invitation.
Also, Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond defended his Ministry's decision to release the bomber, insisting that the decision to release the Libyan prematurely was taken on "compassionate grounds" based solely on medical evidence that indicated Megrahi had only three more months to live because of inoperable prostate cancer.
Rejecting allegations that the decision was influenced by BP, Salmond said: "I can say unequivocally that the Scottish government has never, at any point, received any representation from BP in relation to Megrahi."
Salmond also repeated his criticism of the Ministry of the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair for negotiating a prisoner-transfer agreement (PTA) with Libya in 2007, adding that it was the PTA, which was in no way connected to Megrahi's release, that prompted U.S. suspicions of "deals in the desert."
Salmond's response came after British Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the decision to set Megrahi free, calling it "completely and utterly wrong." Though he refused to order an investigation into the issue, he offered to provide all government correspondence on the subject to Washington.
Megrahi was the only person to have been convicted for blowing up Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988 in which 259 passengers were killed along with 11 others on the ground, most of them Americans.
He was freed last August by Scottish authorities after being diagnosed, as per their version, terminally ill with prostate cancer. Despite Washington's stiff opposition to the move, the Scottish government released him.
The Libyan was serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 27 years at the Greenock prison in Scotland when he was freed. Though doctors said last August that Megrahi had only three more months to live, it emerged after his return to Libya that he might live for another 10 years.
Subsequently, reports appeared about BP allegedly putting pressure on Scottish authorities to secure Megrahi's release to gain access to oil fields in Libya. BP has since admitted to lobbying the British government in 2007 over a prisoner-transfer agreement with Libya, but denied any involvement in Megrahi's case.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.