Pan Am 103 Bomber Given A Hero's Welcome In Tripoli

In his first comments since Abdelbaset al Megrahi was released from prison in Scotland last week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he is "angry and repulsed" by the welcome the convicted terrorist was given on his arrival in Libya. Brown had been chastised by the opposition Tories for taking so long to comment.

Gordon Brown

Megrahi was given a hero's welcome when he arrived in Tripoli. He had been serving a life sentence for his role in the bombing of Pan Am 103, which was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland killing 270 people on the plane and on the ground. Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill freed Megrahi on what he said were compassionate grounds. He has been diagnosed with cancer and has been given 3 months to live.

Sky News reports that Brown did not say whether or not he agreed with MacAskill's decision to free Megrahi. Speaking in Downing Street, the PM said: "When I met (Libyan leader) Colonel Gaddafi over the summer, I made it absolutely clear to him that we had no role in making the decision about Megrahi's future."

"I was both angry and I was repulsed by the reception that a convicted bomber guilty of a huge terrorist crime received on his return to Libya," he went on to say.

Brown said Britain's resolve to continue to fight terrorism is "absolute".

FMI: www.number10.gov.uk