Friday 21 August 2009

Friday 21st August 2009

The big news story this week has been Scottish Government's decision to release Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer.
The Libyan man, who was convicted of killing of murdering 270 people when Pan Am flight 103 exploded in 1988, was freed by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill yesterday. This decision has provoked an angry reaction, most notably from US President Barack Obama.
But an issue here is should Scottish Government be given the power to release convicted terrorists? Since New Labour devolved power from Westminster and Whitehall, Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament have been given more responsibility in legislature that previously would've been made in London. Perhaps this whole incident suggests that devolution is not a good idea and sensitive cases such as this one should be handled by Whitehall.

Sorry to keep it so short today, must get back to reading my book!

No comments: