Cameron rebuffs US probe request
2010-07-21 11:07
Washington - British Prime Minister David Cameron was focusing on Afghanistan on Wednesday, the second day of a visit to the US that saw him turn aside calls for a fresh investigation into whether oil giant BP swayed the controversial decision to release the Lockerbie bomber.
Cameron planned to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery before heading to the Pentagon for briefings on military operations in Afghanistan.
Britain has the most troops serving in Afghanistan of any Nato nation after the United States. But Cameron has said he wants his country's 10 000 troops out by the time of Britain's next election, which must be held by 2015.
Cameron was later scheduled to travel by train to New York to meet with senior US business leaders about prospects for increased trade and investment with Britain.
Lockerbie matter overshadows visit
He will hold talks with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and attend a dinner hosted by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg before flying back to Britain.
Cameron had hoped to use his first visit to the US since taking office 10 weeks ago to build his standing as a statesman and develop his relation with President Barack Obama.
Instead, the Lockerbie issue overshadowed a broader agenda that Obama and Cameron discussed in the Oval Office and over lunch on Tuesday before addressing reporters. The 43-year-old Cameron, a few years younger than Obama, took power in May and leads a coalition government of his Conservative Party and the smaller Liberal Democrats.
Cameron and Obama did display a united front on the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, the need for direct Middle East peace talks and the fight in Afghanistan.
Polite rebuttal of request
But Cameron turned aside US calls for a fresh investigation into why the convicted Lockerbie bomber was set free by Scotland and whether BP had a role in the controversial decision. Obama stood by his new peer but said that "all the facts" must come out.
In declaring his position - to potentially make public more information from an earlier investigation of Libyan Abdel Baset al-Megrahi's release, but not start a new one- Cameron politely but roundly rebuffed the US government.
Obama sought a diplomatic tone in response, saying the US would "welcome any additional information," and made clear he wanted it.
Beyond the lingering anger, the case swirls anew with interest because of its possible links to BP, the British oil giant facing huge fallout in the US for causing the Gulf oil spill.
"I think all of us here in the United States were surprised, disappointed and angry about the release of the Lockerbie bomber," Obama said in a short news conference dominated by the topic.
Yet he added: "The key thing to understand here is that we've got a British prime minister who shares our anger over the decision. And so I'm fully supportive of Prime Minister Cameron's efforts to gain a better understanding of it."
Claims BP lobbied for bomber’s release
Al-Megrahi was convicted of the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people, most of them American. The Scottish government released the cancer-stricken man on compassionate grounds last year, igniting outrage on both sides of the Atlantic.
Bringing the matter to the fore again are accusations that BP sought the release of the convicted bomber as part of efforts to seek access to Libyan oil fields; BP has acknowledged that it urged the British government to sign a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya but says it never specified al-Megrahi's case.
"Any lobbying they might have done is an issue for BP, and an issue that they should explain themselves," Cameron said flatly.
The British leader said, though, that he has not seen anything to suggest that the Scottish government was swayed by BP.
On Tuesday night, the four US Democratic senators from New York and New Jersey, the home states of many of the Lockerbie victims, met with Cameron for 45 minutes. They left with the impression that a further investigation may not be out of the question.
British Embassy spokesperson Martin Longden confirmed that Cameron had called for a review of documents about the case.
Longden said indications are that due process was followed "but if evidence comes to light that casts any doubt on that, then the prime minister's clear - it should be properly investigated".
"We made the case that there's just too much suspicion here to sort of brush this aside," said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York.
Clinton request turned down
Libya's proven oil reserves are the ninth-largest in the world, but vast areas remain unexplored. The country has been working to bring in foreign oil companies and investors after US and UN sanctions were lifted several years ago.
Just ahead of Cameron's arrival in Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton requested that the Scottish and British governments review exactly what happened in al-Megrahi's release. That seemed to go nowhere with Cameron, who said: "I don't think there's any great mystery here."
"There was a decision taken by the Scottish Executive - in my view, a wholly wrong and misguided decision, a bad decision, but their decision, nonetheless," he said.
"That's what happened, and I don't think we need an extra inquiry to tell us that that's what happened."
Even Obama said whatever information emerges will likely lead to the same conclusion: "It was a decision that should not have been made," he said.
Cameron did say that his government would co-operate with the inquiry being pursued by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
And the matter shows little sign of quickly fading away as long as BP is in the mix. The British prime minister said that he and Obama discussed the company at length.
In front of reporters, Cameron was notably more defensive of the British company than Obama.
Cameron said BP must be responsible for responding to the Gulf disaster it caused and compensating victims, but he also described BP's success as vital to the British and US economies and to thousands of workers.
- AP
